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Local invention catches eye of MLB players, CNBC

This week, a Jefferson County man with a very unusual invention is getting some national attention.

This week, a Jefferson County man with a very unusual invention is getting some national attention.

His innovation is now being worn by several Major League Baseball players and hockey players in the NHL, and the local start-up will be featured Tuesday night on the CNBC show "West Texas Investors Club".

Five on Your Side introduced you to Jeremiah Raber and his bulletproof men's protective cup back in 2013

Our story went viral quickly, mainly because the whole idea seemed outrageous.

But Jeremiah Raber and his partner Matt Heck are getting the last laugh.

Their product, Nutshellz, made with kevlar and a fabric called Dyneema, can truly stop a speeding bullet, and it's now the preferred men's protective cup for Major League Baseball players like Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph.

"He actually called me from the hospital to order one, so he could back in the lineup," Heck recalls.

Several NHL hockey players and ultimate fighters also use it.

All the buzz caught the attention of the CNBC show "West Texas Investors Club".

"It's like the 'Shark Tank', you get to prove the worth of your product," says Raber.

They can't tell us how the episode ends-- whether or not their idea is bankrolled with money to take their product to the next level.

But either way, it's hard not to look at the success of an idea that began in Raber's High Ridge basement as a sort of Hollywood ending for these two local innovators.

"We're extremely grateful; it's the opportunity of a lifetime," Heck says.

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