Wheeling Entrepreneur Dives In To 'Shark Tank' (VIDEO)

A 19-year-old Wheeling entrepreneur and Wheeling High School grad who created Velcro bands that keep weights attached to barbells will be appearing on "Shark Tank" this weekend. Martin Dimitriov, who graduated from Wheeling in 2016 and is now a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will pitch SnapClips, the business he created with fellow Wheeling grad Ryan Caufield, to the show's panel of celebrity investors.

The show airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, on ABC. And Dimitriov is even holding a viewing party for the episode in the Illinios rooms at UIC Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago. Doors for the event open at 7:30 p.m.

"Our task is getting out in front of people," Dimitrov told the Daily Herald recently. "With 'Shark Tank,' I think we really accomplished that."

Dimitriov and Caufield, the company's CEO and CFO, respectively, designed SnapClips — what they bill as "innovative weight collars" that emphasize durability, safety and ease of use — in 2015, and their product won first place at the Community Consolidated School District 214 Startup Showcase, according to a 2016 Daily Herald article.

After that success, the two received a $2,500 grant from a business incubator to turn SnapClips into a limited liability corporation to begin manufacturing the devices. A Kickstarter campaign that ran early in 2016 also raised $23,000, according to the Herald.

"We have done countless hours of research and development over the last year and a half and have worked with 5 manufactures to perfect our design," the SnapClips 2016 Kickstarter page states. "We've overcome obstacles such as sourcing, manufacturing, and packaging."

To appear on "Shark Tank," Dimitrov attended a casting call in Boston, and he flew to Los Angeles in September to tape the show that airs Sunday.

Got to the SnapClips Facebook page to find out more about the product and the company.

WATCH: Check out the video Martin Dimitrov shot during his visit to Los Angeles to tape an episode of "Shark Tank":

"Shark Tank"

• When: 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28
• Network: ABC (WLS-TV, Channel 7)

SnapClips Viewing Party

• When: Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27
• Where: Illinois rooms at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago

More via the Daily Herald

Martin Dimitrov, 19, of Wheeling, pitches SnapClips, a device he helped design that attaches weights to barbells. (Photo via ABC TV)