For this RISE Blog Tom Morgan, one of the founders and CEO of Supersmith to talks about the company, and the journey so far. Supersmith has been supported by UWE Bristol’s Bristol Robotics Lab (BRL) and Future Space, from concept to being moments away from launch
How we are changing the way the world thinks about mobility scooters
Tom Morgan, Founder & CEO, Supersmith
When most people picture a mobility scooter, they don’t think about innovation. They think about something medical. Functional. Bulky, maroon. Something you need, not something you want.
And that perception is exactly the problem.
At Supersmith, we believe mobility scooters shouldn’t just help people move. They should expand what’s possible. They should feel safe. They should feel empowering. And they should be designed with the same ambition and pride as any other consumer product. For many people, a traditional mobility scooter just doesn’t make them feel good. With the help of our community, that’s what we are hoping to change
Because if we’re honest this category hasn’t changed meaningfully in decades.
The Safety Gap that society has normalised
In the UK, 6.3 million people experience walking impairment. Yet traditional mobility scooters have five times more fatalities per distance travelled than motorbikes.
That statistic stopped us in our tracks.
Even more striking, over one third of mobility scooter users have tipped over at least once.
Somehow, instability has been accepted as part of the experience. Users are expected to adapt to cambers, uneven pavements and dropped kerbs. The burden of safety has been placed on the rider, not the design. Mobility scooters have long been treated as medical aids not high tech mobility systems. And when you categorise something as a “medical device,” expectations lower, design stagnates, and innovation slows. We believe that needs to change.
A Personal Mission
Supersmith was founded by myself, my wife Emily, and her cousin Dr Fred Russell-Pavier.
For us, this is personal, I’ve seen my sister live with multiple sclerosis and struggle with traditional scooters, not only because of safety concerns, but because of the social stigma attached to them. Mobility shouldn’t mean feeling exposed or diminished. It shouldn’t mean sitting far below eye level, being literally and metaphorically looked over. We all deserve better.
Her lived experience has shaped everything about how we approached design.
Engineering Confidence
Our first product, the 3Scooter, was created to tackle both stability and stigma head-on.
Inside every model is a patented active stabilisation system called EverLevel™ . It continuously adjusts to terrain and turns, actively adapting to maintain balance. It means you can do things that simply wouldn’t be possible on traditional 3 and 4 wheel mobility scooters without tipping.
Users can sit up to 90% of their standing height, changing not just visibility, but presence. The aesthetic blends contemporary e-scooter styling with practical functionality. It folds in around 10 seconds, can be partially used as a walker, and is lightweight enough to lift into a car boot .
“Nothing For Us, Without Us”
One of the most important principles guiding Supersmith is a mantra well known in the disability community: Nothing for us, without us .
From concept to production, our community has been involved at every stage. Not as test subjects, but as collaborators. Because if we want to change how the world thinks about mobility scooters, we have to start by listening to the people who rely on them.
Changing perception isn’t just about engineering. It’s about language, brand, distribution, and storytelling. Our ambition at Supersmith isn’t simply to launch a new scooter in 2026. It’s to shift a mindset that has been stuck for too long.
Because when you change how people think about a product, you change how they feel about using it. And when you change how someone feels about moving through the world, you start to slowly change that world, one scooter at a time. That’s the mission Emily, Fred and I are committed to alongside our incredible community team and support network.
How the UWE Bristol Ecosystem Accelerated Our Journey
Based at UWE Bristol, within the BRL Hardware Incubator, has been instrumental in turning our ambition into something tangible. The Hardware Incubator, together with Future Space, are vital components of an ecosystem which includes active investment communities, and a wide range of support, diverse skills and talent.
Building a hardware startup is complex, and access to specialist facilities, technical expertise and a collaborative innovation community has allowed us to iterate faster and achieve more. Which, when you’re trying to rethink an entire category from the ground up is vital.
Tom Morgan
Founder & CEO
Supersmith
More information on Supersmith and their journey
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