About Us
Jessie Graff
​​
A world renowned stuntwoman, American Ninja Warrior, Mentor and inventor is a modern day SuperHero.
​
She is known for smashing stereotypes, defying the impossible and repeatedly placing among the top men on the strength-based obstacles of American Ninja Warrior.
​
Jessie made national headlines when she placed 2nd among the men at regional finals, and became the first woman to clear a national finals course on American Ninja Warrior. She remains the only woman in the world to reach the third stage of ninja competition in Japan’s 41 seasons of “Sasuke”. ​
​
Jessie was the 2015 Stuntwoman of the Year and 2020 Taurus World Stunt Award Nominee, her credits include: Wonder Woman (as WW stunt double and Amazon), Supergirl, Mandelorian, Guardians of the Galaxy, Transformers, and over 100 others.
​
As an elite pole vaulter, level 9 gymnast, a black belt in Taekwondo and Kung Fu, with extensive training in high falls, wipeouts, skydiving, motorcycles, stunt driving, fire, wirework, and flying trapeze, she is most proud of her ability to push beyond her own limits, transform setbacks into opportunities, and inspire others to be their own hero.
She also broke the pole-vault record at Georgia Tech, where she majored in Aerospace Engineering, and the University of Nebraska, where she earned her degree in Theatre.
​
KC Boutiette​​
A four-time Olympian, World Inline Speed Skating Champion, Oldest speed skater to win a World Cup medal at the age of 46, currently holds over 10 masters World Records and is the current 2025 World Masters Champion in the 55-59 age group.
​
He was the first of the wave of inline speed skaters that successfully made the transition from inline to ice in order to have a shot at going to the Olympics.
​
In 1993, he showed up at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, looking to improve his technique on inline skates. However, 6 weeks later, he ended up earning a spot on the 1994 Olympic Team in Lillehammer, Norway.
​
Boutiette demonstrated to other American inline speed skaters that the opportunity was there if they would give it a shot. Following in his footsteps were Joey Cheek, Derek Parra, Jondon Trevena, Chad Hedrick, Jenifer Rodriguez and Apolo Ohno. Now almost half of the Olympic team were inline skaters for whom he paved the way.
​
In the Netherlands, where Boutiette lived off and on for the majority of his carrier, Boutiette participated as a marathon speed skater and in this period he won the Six Days Tour of Holland (marathon speedskating races that are between 40 - 70 kilometers long) twice along with winning 23 total speed skating marathons in his carrier.
​
Our Story
Movement is life! As a gymnast, pole vaulter, martial artist and stunt woman, I love flipping and flying through the air. I was never willing to compromise my freedom by wearing a shoe that would limit me- especially if it put my feet and ankles at risk.
​
Becoming a stunt woman has been an absolute dream come true. I get to go to work, learn amazing fight choreography and perform tricks to enhance the excitement of a story. Sometimes, I get to do truly super-human moves, assisted by a harness, wires, and rigging team.
​
So often in film and television, we have the most exciting scene planned, and then we get a costume that limits us. How do you do spin kicks and take downs in high heels? If you had any wall flips or butterfly twists, those are out the window. We quickly trim out all of the coolest moves. And even if you can pull off a decent fight in heels, there’s no way it’ll be as sharp and dynamic as if you had full range of motion in your ankles. It breaks my heart a little bit every time we compromise our performance for the sake of aesthetics. It’s amazing to me how many people prioritize aesthetics over health and safety.
​
There has to be a better way. Can’t we have both? One day, I asked a costumer “What if I just cut off the heel, and walk around on my tippie toes for the action shots? I’ll be moving pretty fast. No one will notice there’s no heel there.” She looked at me like I was crazy. “The shoe is too rigid”, she said. And she was right. High heels are locked into a completely awkward position that would never work as a flat. We’d have to remake the structure of the shoe so that it can flex and move, and while we’re at it, throw in a retractable heel!
​
Then I met KC Boutiette on the set of American Ninja Warrior: a 4-time Olympic speed skater and modern-day high-performance shoe cobbler and had our first business meeting on inline skates. KC and his custom cycling shoe manager, Jesh Memmen had the skills and imagination to bring my vision of Hero Heels™ and WonderWedges™ to life.
​
Engineered and performance-tested with a quick response compressible heel that appears extended when engaged, and compresses into a flat sole in a relaxed position. Hero Heels are a patented design that creates the illusion of a heel or wedge without risk to the performer.
​
The more we studied, the more we learned about the damage high heels do to your body. Whether in demanding athletic performances or everyday use, traditional heels cram the toes into an unnatural position, dangerously moving the body out of alignment, creating unnecessary risk and potential long-term health issues for the wearer. Each time we learned about a common foot, ankle, or postural issue that results from typical heels, we modified our design to prevent these problems from arising.
