Tim West slashes back

Montara wetsuit upstart Isurus has teamed up with coastside charger Tim West to develop an innovative new line of high-end, buoyant, light and flexible wetsuits targeting hardcore watermen and women who tend to spend as many as 200 days in the water per year. Named after the Latin genus for the sleek Mako shark and inspired by suits developed for hyper-competitive triathletes, Isurus has leapt right off the starting line in an audacious attempt to marry superior materials with a tighter tolerance fit and high quality manufacturing geared toward NorCal surfer-athletes.

Wetsuits have come a long way since 1951 when waterman and physicist Hugh Bradner invented the first wetsuit (see A Waterman’s Tale: The True Inventor of the Wetsuit). Driven by a bygone ethic of invention for the greater good, and sponsored by the Defense Department, Bradner didn’t patent the idea that a person donning such a rubber garment didn’t have to stay dry to stay warm. As Bradner put it, “I don’t give a damn who thought of it first, as long as I’m not going around making a false claim.” Bradner died on May 5, 2008, at the age of 92 without ever receiving full credit for his creation. But his legacy lives on in those with the character to innovate and charge just for the love of it.

John S. Foster in Bradner wet suit prototype, ca. 1953

Flash forward to the present: the wetsuit has evolved from a stiff, ill-fitting, leaky strait jacket into a refined garment with warmth and flexibility as its main function. In the pursuit of those sometimes competing attributes, many wetsuit manufacturers have sacrificed durability and quality in the process. By infusing more nitrogen bubbles in the neoprene that is sandwiched between layers of nylon or Lycra, such suits are prone to deterioration and saturation within a couple of months of hard use, despite industry claims and warranties. The more durable 5-mm suits retain their thermal properties longer, but tend to be more restrictive, and even 4-mm suits can add pounds in water retention, equivalent to dragging around a bottle of water or small dumbbell in the line-up.

Isurus Wetsuits (http://www.surfisurus.com/)

Any hardcore surfer on the North Coast will tell you that the older a wetsuit gets, the heavier it feels, the less it insulates, and the longer it takes to dry, reaching a terminal point of diminishing returns at some stage in its finite lifecycle. There is nothing more irritating than pulling on a damp, clammy wetsuit, only made tolerable by the knowledge that you’ll soon be getting wet again and chasing down some more “tasty waves.” In fact, most watermen use at least two wetsuits in rotation to avoid just that chilly scenario.

Isurus = form + function

Isurus Founder-Innovator Jim Brateris’ concept was to design wetsuits “for surfing by surfers.” After blowing through two to three wetsuits a year himself, Jim realized that wetsuit quality was being sacrificed with the corporatization of the wetsuit industry. In 2003 he figured there had to be a better way to bring the wetsuit back to its core values and re-engineer it for more discerning and demanding surfers. As Jim says, “We were looking for a different design concept, more suited to the muscular structure of the human body in order to get a better free range of motion,” like that illustrated in the archetypal illustration of ideal human proportions, “Vitruvian Man” by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Isurus, Fit for a Vitruvian Man!

Isurus took their inspiration from triathletes, who have long demanded better-fitting, lightweight, and more buoyant wetsuits from their suppliers—all of which add up to shortened swim times and quicker muscle recovery in later stages of the competition. Such a performance wetsuit provides a clear competitive advantage for triathletes and surfers alike. Like only a couple of other manufacturers, Isurus starts with the gold standard of Yamamoto “closed-cell” neoprene, fused between “hydrophobic linings.” This allows for a much thinner and 50% lighter wetsuit that retains significantly less water than conventional versions. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpqivbsGI-4&feature=PlayList&p=250CC809413E3062&index=2)

Yamamoto rubber is the best.

As Brateris explains, “The main difference between the mass-produced and -marketed wetsuits is right here (fingering the wetsuit rubber); Yamamoto has a proprietary process in which they inject nitrogen to get the prime part of the rubber to have a closed-cell neoprene, and that’s all they use, the best part of the rubber. Unlike an open-cell kitchen sponge-like material used in many conventional suits, the stitching will hold much better in a closed-cell structure.”

In terms of materials, Isurus wetsuits also integrate “Aerodome” panels in the front, from the chest all the way down the thighs, and on the back. These are the rubberized air-cell panels adopted by a few manufacturers that not only increase floatation, but heat retention as well. The slick skin surface of Aerodome helps resist wind chill (most of any suit) and actually adds to board traction, as well, when paddling prone. Rounding out the ensemble is a feature adopted from tri-athlete versions, called a “Forward Propulsion System” (FPS). FPS is basically textured rubberized strips on the inside of the forearms that add water traction and adherence with each stroke and, in theory, greater power.

Details, details

The high-end materials choice will only get you so far, and Isurus has taken it a step further, pairing the best in Japanese neoprene with the highest-quality Chinese (ISO 9002-certified) manufacturer. The suits are designed with the panels specifically anatomically structured to mirror body contours, rather than resist them, by taking 20 points of measure compared to the standard 15 points. Isurus suits can generally be worn about one mm thinner year round than comparable suits. That results in a wetsuit that fits much more snugly than conventional suits, ideal for heat retention, blood flow, and dynamic functionality in the water —much more like a custom suit.

Starting a local wetsuit company from scratch with the ambition of taking it to “a higher level” and creating a superior product for the demanding Northern Californian marketplace is a daunting task. But Isurus has found something that has been nearly lost – quality. By using the best materials available, they have dramatically cut the weight without sacrificing warmth and flexibility.

A demanding customer base: Maverick's Contest Opening Ceremony

The I-Elite 343 version is the lightest and highest performance model in the stable and comes with a removable hood. The I-Evade 434 model feels like wearing thermal underwear and sheds wind and water with ease. It has an integral 2-mm front-zip pull-over hood with a buttery yellow lining that just steams when pulled up and is designed to not be restrictive when rolled down, which is nearly anytime the sun comes out (when was the last time you were almost too warm in your 4-3?). The hydrophobic jersey material sandwiched around the closed-cell neoprene also dries extremely fast and retains 80% less water, making double-sesh a breeze.

Maverick’s journeyman Grant Washburn has taken the suit out to his favorite haunts and reported back that he’s used a number of different wetsuit brands and this one “feels totally different and is built really well.” Grant has even taken out the thinnest 3 mil I-Elite version of the suit to Maverick’s without a hood and been quite comfortable. Not only does the cut of the suit aid in paddle recovery, but the improved warmth is the key, as “the biggest enemy out there is the cold, which more than any other single factor burns calories and increases fatigue.”

Grant Washburn

In addition to the superior thermal properties and fit of the suit, Washburn was particularly pleased with the thin, warm hood. “Back in November of 2008 I was nominated for the XXL Wipeout of the Year for a wave at Mav’s that I didn’t make. My wipeout didn’t win, but I did tweak my neck on that fall and it has been sensitive ever since. The ‘slippery stuff’ (slick skin) on the hood helps penetrate the water during spills and the turbulence just doesn’t get the same grip on your head. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this became the new standard for hoods out at Maverick’s.”

Grant also chuckles that friend and former champion Grant “Twiggy” Baker hauls around a battery-powered blower hanger to dry his wetsuits, which is not needed for the quick-drying Isurus. The whole package works: the lighter weight, the warmth, the flexibility and fit. He even feels “something going on” with the Forward Propulsion System (FPS) on the forearms, aiding in paddle power over numerous strokes, just as with competitive swimmers.

Washburn has known Tim West and his family since he was a little kid and was really stoked when he found out about Tim’s ambition to surf Maverick’s, since there were few locals doing so. Though crowds of elite international surfers mob the line-up now compared to the early days, Grant says he tries to keep it fun and light out there, sharing waves especially on the busiest days. He sees Tim as also keen to have a good time at the break, having a certain “Jay vibe” (Jay Moriarity) about him that transcends the “us vs. them localism” that can infect any spot.

Like most other wetsuits, the Isurus suits occasionally flush through the yoke on the shoulder when you take an awkward fall, but as Grant notes this is almost a relief after you’ve been steaming along and the suit warms up fast. They are also a little more challenging to remove than enter due to that near-custom fit, which feels like a vacuum seal on your body once wet. But this is a “small and acceptable price to pay for the performance advantages, and you quickly figure it out,” says Washburn.

Grant Washburn, cruising on coldest day in 40 years at Ocean Beach, San Francisco

The high-quality Yamamoto rubber is also initially stiffer, but soon begins to mold to your body after a session or two. Isurus is so focused on quality materials and fit that any initial minor issues have already been ironed out in subsequent versions about to be released. Getting the right size with such a tight-tolerance suit is also key, and Isurus offers a wider range of sizes for this reason.

Test Pilot Tim West

Tim West rides a bomb

Tim West grew up in Montara and has been a fixture in serious surf along the San Mateo coast for much of his young career. His stocky build and tenacious attitude have kept the goofy footer firmly planted to his board in frequently heaving and hollow beach break conditions that few others would dare to attempt. More recently he has taken that finely- tuned act to Maverick’s after “doing his homework” on big waves. Montara neighbor and renowned sports/surf writer Bruce Jenkins noted in his recent 3 Dot Blog that “the best of the up-and-coming generation from the Half Moon Bay coastside, West is confident, level-headed and a regular whenever Maverick’s is going off.” His commitment to the spot in all conditions and hard-charging backside attack earned him underground recognition and a slot in the Maverick’s contest as one of only two local invitees. The other is his tow partner Ion Banner. Here is some Powerlines footage of their breakthrough tow session on a mean west swell on December 4, 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imArpSkBPDE

West out the back

For Tim, “Maverick’s is just something I’ve always since day one been dreaming of– just paddling out there, let alone being in the contest” following years of diligent preparation at other spots. He remembers as a grom working his way up into double-overhead conditions at Ross’s: “Then it was like closed-out Cove, yah. Then it was just CRAZY closed out Cove. Then I’d go out by myself on my Mav’s gun just to practice, and then I’d go out to Scott’s Creek and practice there too. And finally I got geared up and went to Mav’s. I didn’t have anybody to go out with; nobody wanted to go out with me in my generation. I just did it all on my own. I didn’t have that push…”

In turn, Tim has been an incredible role model for younger surfers in the area, especially members of the Half Moon Bay Middle School Surf Team, who he has encouraged and mentored along with Wyatt Fields and others. In his formative years he vividly recalls examples of good and bad eggs in the line-up, and says he drew motivation and determination to succeed from both.

Tim mentors Half Moon Bay grom

Among his most influential surf mentors he credits Ion Banner and Curt Meyers, while Jay Moriarity of Santa Cruz also embodied the positive spirit that he embraces. His dad, Tim Senior, got him started surfing and still keeps him on track in their day jobs as fire sprinkler fitters, setting the bar high as Tim’s number one role model. As a result, nothing could give him more pride that seeing the “local line-ups loaded with local kid-rippers.” The ocean has been his teacher too, of course, keeping him “grounded and clean” and having a huge impact on his performance, attitude, and life.

Tim, Sr. and Tim, Jr.

It’s clear that he sees a lot of himself in the local kids searching for their places in the line-up. He can regularly be found stopping by Sunday team practices, generously handing out surf stickers and advice—checking in on “Tim’s groms,” as his proud mother calls them. Tim went to some lengths to formally invite the entire team to the 2009 Maverick’s opening ceremonies back in October to give the kids “a chance to see how the contest works, meet the competitors, and expand [their] horizons.” The event included the paddle out, heat selections, and dinner, which was a thumping success thanks to the consummate hosting skills of Katherine Clark.

Brateris of Isurus was in touch with Tim West as far back as 2003-4 and broached the idea of a locally-grown wetsuit of superior design. Tim was in on the ground floor and contributed ideas for key features at an early stage for a near-custom suit that was ideal for harsh local conditions in the region. As Brateris recalls, after trading ideas and drawings with Tim before heading off to China, “Tim put on an old wetsuit and he stood there as I traced the new lines with a magic marker on his body to get the design just right and have an accurate prototype to send out.”

Tim grabs rail at Todos

Of the symbiotic relationship, West was stoked to help out a friend and “water the roots locally,” while Brateris felt there really couldn’t be a better test pilot. Tim has tested out the suit this season at Maverick’s and has noted no problems despite numerous beatings. Much like Tim’s polished surfing, “the suit speaks for itself.” Tim is in it to test himself and have fun in big waves, not for photo ops.

He once paddled out with friend Chris Loeswick, only to be vaulted several feet in the air by a ballistic attack from below by a Great White shark. Several TV networks including the Today Show, Good Morning America, and National Geographic were all clamoring for an interview, but Tim refused them all because he wanted to be known for his surfing, not some freak attack. As Tim recalls:

“The only insight I want anyone to get out of that incident is to live each and every day to the fullest. When the shark hit it was unexpected and out of the ordinary. My attention was focused on an epic sunset with one guy out at small Maverick’s and I wanted to get one more good one. Then BOOM. I know anyone can relate-driving a car, walking in a lightning storm, etc. How about the guy who took a meteorite through his chest! One second everything may be perfect and content in your life, and at a moment without notice your one life on this earth can be taken. I’m lucky. I’m lucky to be alive. I’m lucky to walk, shake hands, talk. I’m lucky to be able to surf still at the same place I almost had my life taken. I’m lucky to hug my family and sit down with them at holiday dinner. I’m lucky to experience the next phase of my life, and one day to experience bringing another life into this world. Don’t take it for granted. It is inevitable that one day each of us will wake up and that day will be our last. I’m so thankful that Nov 2, 2005 wasn’t that day for me. So when you see me gone for months at a time in the tropics or off to ‘spot x’ for the weekend, its cuz I know life is short, especially our youth. Live in the now.”

Tim moonlights as a barrel miner in Puerto Escondido

As the first Isurus team rider, West is among a vanguard of five participants in the Maverick’s contest using the suit, with others impressed enough to be willing to plunk down cash for a superior wetsuit in the most challenging proving ground on the planet. Tim has taken to the road as well to hone his skills in the hollow waves of the Southern Hemisphere at Puerto Escondido and Todos Santos in Mexico—prep work for big winter surf at home. He published some insightful “Puerto Journal” entries on his adventures south of the border on the Maverick’s contest website, giving a unique glimpse into the big wave fraternity: http://maverickssurf.com/buzz/press/2009/aug/TimPuerto.php

Here’s an excerpt from his final journal entry on August 26, 2009:

“This was my first trip to the area and definitely not my last. It’s a true test of a waterman to surf this beach, because it is like no other beach break in the world. The local crew has the place wired and gets much respect, not only for surfing well, but for their kindness and good vibes. My two month trip had more of everything than I ever expected—waves, friends, food, culture, landscape and juice smoothies, ha. Thank God for the smoothie bar; couldn’t have pulled it off without that place.

Tim tows into a keg

Thursday was the day pulse #3 showed up. Around lunch time you could hear it from wherever you were on the beach. Thunder-like sets rolling through with a little bit of cloud cover, which meant a possibility of clean evening conditions. During the next 6 hours the swell jumped up dramatically- nobody out. Sure enough the winds shifted offshore as 40 foot waves marched in like a brigade of soldiers, back-to-back-to-back with 10 to 20 wave sets. So I’m sitting on the roof, watching this macking swell flood into town with the most unforgiving close out sets I’ve ever seen, and all of a sudden out of the corner of my vision I see Greg Long running down the street with his Puerto gun ready as ever to tackle one. He, Jaime Sterling, Rusty Long, and Will Dillon were on it. It looked scary, not fun, so I opted out. Big props to those guys for getting out there that evening.

Sunset at Todos

On Saturday, the next day after the big swell (that peaked and A-framed at 40 foot top-to-bottom, no joke) it was still 15-20 foot. So I launched the ski and all morning towed in a few friends that I had met during my stay with a few waves for each and most of them for the first time on a tow board. They all said they got the biggest tubes of their lives and I was more than happy to provide the assist. In fact, it’s just as fun towing people into big waves as surfing them sometimes, especially when you witness how stoked they are at the end of their ride. After towing them for a couple of hours I packed my rig, attached the ski, and B-lined it straight back to Half Moon Bay with an adrenaline rush that still hasn’t gotten out of my system. Livin’ it to the fullest!” –Tim West.

Tim drops in at Todos

It was in Puerto that Tim met and traded waves with Mexican charger Coco Nogales, another well-traveled surfer whose pursuit of bone-crushing waves occasionally finds him outside of his tropical element. Tim put Coco on to the Isurus program and his positive feedback from Northern sessions in Todos Santos and Maverick’s has been invaluable. As Jim Brateris said, “our challenge was to keep him toasty and flexible in Todos and Mav’s this winter.”

Tim doesn’t take big wave surfing lightly and has been methodical in his approach to excelling at Maverick’s. Like others, West cites “Powerlines” videos by Curt Meyers and Eric Nelson (http://www.mavfilm.com/) as providing a library of essential study materials chronicling the break. He has examined the videos backwards and forwards as part of his preparations, and credits them with helping him understand the wave. He has also listened very carefully to interviews of surf legends for any hints or tips on how to handle different risky situations, testing and adding their techniques to his own survival program.

When in the impact zone, one technique is to slip off his board and point it toward the beach, take a couple pencil dives down. Then he will adopt a specific fetal position when closed out in the impact zone, tucking his head and limbs into a cannonball ahead of detonation. Then there are no surprises when it happens and only relief if he pops up sooner. “You always want to go into a comfort zone, because in big waves if your arms are flapp’n around, and you go limp, it’ll rip your arm off. It’ll tear your sockets up for sure.”

West cuts back at Nelscott Reef

It is his mental preparation as well that keeps him calm and alive. On any wipeout he is ready to have his wind knocked out and assumes he will be facing a two-wave hold-down. “Every time I go down I automatically assess in my head that I will have a two-wave hold-down, because if you don’t and you expect that air, your mind is just going to be bummed and you’re going to panic. Even if you broke your arm, even if you’re gashed wide open, it’s survival mode and it’s the instinct that we all have, but most just don’t know it.”

As Tim says, “The suit makes me feel that much more ‘on it’ when I’m in heavy surf. It’s comfortable; it keeps me warm when the air/water temp is really cold; the propulsion system on my forearms improves paddle power. All these factors give me more confidence being out there, knowing I have the best wetsuit pretty much ever made for surfing.”

Maverick’s Contest, 02/13/2010

West paddles out for Heat 3 during Heat 2

West had ample opportunity to put his survival training to the test during Heat 3 of the Maverick’s contest on February 13. His first drop was a long, steep one, nearly making the corner before being devoured and taken down deep. He remarked, “I nearly split my wig open,” and when he came up managed to “get one big gulp of air and one pencil dive before the next hold-down.” Taken through the rinse cycle three times before Garrett McNamara swooped in on a PWC, Tim was so drained and confused that he couldn’t hang on for more than 20-30 feet splayed across the sled sideways before getting flushed again.

West courting the wave on Valentine's weekend

Amazingly, his leash didn’t break and his board was still attached, providing a life line to the surface each time. Finally, Santa Cruz’s Vince Broglio found Tim “gone-fried,” grabbed him, and pulled him through the rocks into the lagoon before swinging back around and taking him back out into the line-up for his second wave. And that one was even less friendly, flipping him on his back and skipping him down the face like a wayward sled at a snow park. Tow partner Banner described Tim’s spill as “one of his worst ‘ragdollifications’ ever.”

Tough date

Warmth and flexibility breeds the confidence to thrive, not just survive, in the unforgiving littoral zone of NorCal. Unlike body armor (and apparently surfers like Tim, who have survived both shark attacks and semi-consciousness) a wetsuit is not indestructible. But made without compromise in terms of materials and fit, it does have the ability to boost your game. Like a new custom board, that thin layer of neoprene, once you get a feel for it, may become the single most important piece of equipment you’ll own.

More photos of Tim West at Maverick’s Contest, 2010:

Heat 3 wave, shot 1

Heat 3 wave, shot 2

Heat 3 wave, shot 3

Heat 3 wave, shot 4

Afterburner time

Mike Wallace has surfed for over two decades on the East and West coasts, Hawaii, Europe, and NorCal. Currently a resident of Moss Beach with his family of four, he can often be found haunting the beaches south of Devil’s Slide in search of the perfect sandbar with his blind dog, Moose.

Related posts:

1. Maverick’s Contest Locals Trial Heat Held on Tuesday, January 18, 2011
2. Cold Water Chronicles, No. 2: 7 Seconds
3. Maverick’s 2008 Surf Contest Report: Notes from the Channel

Related posts:

1. XCEL Wetsuit Found at Ocean Beach on Saturday, November 3, 2007
2. Board found in HMB on Sunday, November 29, 2009
3. Mutant Wetsuit Lost at Ocean Beach on Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Related posts:

1. Dude, Where Are My Wetsuits? (Taken from SF Driveway on Thursday, August 6, 2009)
2. Wetsuit Found on Great Highway in SF on Monday, December 14, 2009
3. Mutant Wetsuit Lost at Ocean Beach on Tuesday, October 23, 2007

If you lost this wetsuit on this day, please contact SurfPulse and we will get you in contact with the finder.

Related posts:

1. Mutant Wetsuit Lost at Ocean Beach on Tuesday, October 23, 2007
2. Wetsuit Found on Great Highway in SF on Monday, December 14, 2009
3. Surfboard Lost at Ocean Beach on Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Mutant wetsuit was recently repaired and is in excellent condition. If found, please contact SurfPulse and we will forward the contact info to the owner.

Related posts:

1. Surfboard Lost at Ocean Beach on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
2. XCEL Wetsuit Found at Ocean Beach on Saturday, November 3, 2007
3. Surfboard Lost at Ocean Beach on Thursday, January 17, 2008

This article, researching the true inventor of the wetsuit, is the second of two parts.

The Bradner Story

Dr. Hugh Bradner, 1972

An avid waterman from infancy, according to family lore, Hugh “Brad” Bradner (b. 1915) was chucked off a pier by his father into the water at the age of three to sink or swim…he swam. Bradner graduated from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) with a Ph.D. in physics, where he also coached the swimming and water polo teams, and was one of the first Americans to make a deep water SCUBA dive (5). As a nuclear scientist, he was among a trio who established Los Alamos in 1943 and he worked as a research scientist at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at U.C. Berkeley.

However, it was his work for the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory that led to his pioneering research on the wetsuit, as a means to keep Navy SEALS warm and insulated against underwater explosions. He rounded out his illustrious scientific career as professor emeritus at the Institution of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at U.C. San Diego.

Consulted by the military and an active member of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), he was uniquely qualified to fuse science with ocean exploration. On many levels, Bradner worked in an era when the security of the country was paramount and collaboration was the most effective means to that end. It also explains Bradner’s evident reluctance to claim his rightful role as inventor of the wetsuit. That claim was just never important to him, then or now, despite the evidence in his favor.

Scripps Oral History

In a rare Scripps oral history interview in August of 1999 (6), Bradner candidly discussed his career and revealed a trove of hidden gems and invaluable insight into the process of invention and the origins of the wetsuit.

Bradner elaborated on his formative experience of being thrown into Gunpowder River in 1918 at the age of three, with his brother, age four. Bradner explained that his father “had faith that by taking this kind of approach it would not turn me off in the water and he was right. He threw us off the end of the pier in deep water, and well, actually I was happier under water than above pretty much from then on.” His father was the director of the Edgewood Arsenal (chemical warfare) in Maryland at the end of WWI.

In college Bradner was a self-described “lazy” competitive swimmer, who entered swim relays and high diving. While a grad student at Caltech, he began diving below sea level, rigging with another Ph.D. student some homemade diving equipment with a bottle of pure oxygen and a Co2 absorber in the pre-SCUBA days of 1938, five years before the Aqua-Lung was invented by the Cousteau-Gagnan team and more than ten years before that device was first marketed in 1949 (7). It was SCUBA that made the invention of the wetsuit a necessity, increasing cold water diving time from mere minutes to hours.

Advised by the Mayo Clinic to not go deeper than 30 feet under water with their set-up, the pair prowled the coast of Los Angeles and Palos Verdes. Part of his formative diving experience, Bradner found the water uncomfortably cold, forcing him to venture as far south as Punta Banda, Baja, in search of giant abalone—a quintessential snapshot of the idyllic, if not chilly, early California waterman lifestyle.

Fresh out of Caltech, he did a stint at the Naval Ordnance Lab in Washington, D.C., working on mine warfare technology at the start of WWII before moving to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to contribute to studies on high explosives and implosion. Bradner then moved back to California and on to high-energy physics at Lawrence Labs in Berkeley. Despite his “7-day workweek,” he somehow managed to set aside some time for recreation and at the same time was invited to join the National Research Council to advise on undersea swimming and warfare. It was here that the idea of a “wet suit” was spawned.

His primary focus was improving the equipment of underwater demolition teams (UDTs) and the frogmen who comprised them. From the standpoint of a disciplined and multi-faceted scientist, he quickly found that the contemporary “dry suits” did not provide sufficient insulation for divers and concluded that some sort of rubber compound that trapped dead air would be an ideal solution. So he “messed around” with other scientists to solve the problem after going through similar unsatisfactory experiments in layers of rubber and wool as Jack O’Neill and the Meistrells did later. At the recommendation of a colleague in 1951, they zeroed in on a product he called “neoprene foam rubber” made by Rubatex.

Dry suit test at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, 1952

On June 21, 1951, Bradner sent a “definitive” letter to Larry Marshall at the Naval Office, pointing out “Look, you don’t have to stay dry to stay warm.” By that time his group had built several “imperfect” wet suits to present to the December “Swimposium” of that same year in Coronado, California, marking the first public airing of the concept. Water trials came next with the Navy SEALS, with the first open ocean trial in April of 1952 in 51.8°F water in Punta Banda, Baja. Other trials took place in Echo Lake, as well as an ambitious test at Christmastime in icy Lake Tahoe.

John S. Foster, in early wet suit, ca. 1951-1952

In the Marshall letter, Bradner said, “I do not care especially whether a patent on the suit is ever issued, since a refused application would presumably be just as effective in protecting the government from having to pay royalties. I plan to get someone started making the foam suits commercially within the next month or two, if all goes well. I do not anticipate any particular difficulty, since I specifically wish to avoid any profit myself. I don’t want to compromise my position of unbiased consultation on swimmers’ problems.” (8)

There are early photos of Bradner and his team venturing out to Año Nuevo Island to test the new suits 55 miles south of San Francisco. Named by Spanish chaplain Father Antonio del la Ascension as “Punta de Año Nuevo” or “New Year’s Point” (9), the craggy spit of land is known mainly for the wild marine mammals who descend upon it en masse during breeding season and attract formidable carnivorous predators in the process. Bradner would have been hard-pressed to find a more hair-raising location to test a wetsuit in the 1950s than Año Nuevo.

“]

Año Nuevo Island, 1953, Bradner and Chas. Townes [Hugh Bradner in Perelli wetsuit

John S. Foster in Bradner wet suit prototype, ca. 1953

The most obvious question that comes up is: why didn’t he patent the design? Bradner stated quite clearly that, “the morality in those days was that one was not supposed to profit by anything that he did under government auspices.” The patent office treated it as a classified project and bounced the issue back to the government, which found that it didn’t require any patent protection. In turn, that put the ball back in Bradner’s court to discuss the commercial application of the wetsuit with the University of California and any need for patent protection. “In my wisdom, I said, ‘No, I think maybe fifty people in the country (would use it).’” A fateful admission, considering wetsuit sales topped nearly $450 million/year in the most recent industry stats and the surf/skate business generated roughly $7.5 billion in sales/year combined in 2006 (10).

Once the research became declassified, contracting to build the suits for the SEAL UDT teams would take several years if they went through the Navy’s procurement bureaucracy, so Bradner and his engineering team formed their own production company, Engineering Development Company (EDCO), to manufacture the suits using unicellular foam plastic material (neoprene). He had no stake in the firm, but subsequently formed other lucrative commercial relationships with the engineers. Note that Bradner had discussed the strong connection between the thermal properties of the wetsuits and blast protection as early as 1950, though he lacked documentation for this earlier period.

Bradner Equator Proclamation, 1963

Though he was the driving force behind the wetsuit, Bradner was scrupulous about treating its invention as a collaborative venture. This also held true for many of his other research efforts into much more sophisticated diving equipment, including underwater contact lenses, a single-hose regulator, and a decompression meter. Bradner even developed a loop system for quickly extracting SEALs from the water via inflatable boats, similar to modern tow surfing sleds. Engineering problems were to be solved collegially, not unilaterally “claimed” by any one team member. As he put it, “I don’t give a damn who thought of it first, as long as I’m not going around making a false claim. I’d be very happy to continue with the pleasure of being called the granddaddy of it, if it’s valid.”

Questioned by the Chief of Naval Operations about just why did “a good high-energy physicist spend his effort on swimmers and divers when around him people were doing Nobel prize work,” Bradner responded, “I felt that a single person could make a greater contribution, a greater impact, in a war situation by diving than by any other activity that I knew. I still hold to that.” Little did he know that his research, motivated by the war effort, would leave the legacy of year-round recreation for generations of divers and surfers to come.

A “Dry” Retort

A search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals the earliest listing for an “Aquatic garment having an ergonomically curve opening” incorrectly listed in the category of a “wet suit,” filed Jan 31, 1947 (11). Though extraordinarily detailed and impressive, the patent application clearly describes a dry suit, not a wet suit; “a water-excluding garment of rubber sheeting, with insulation provided by a thermal vest.” This leaves Bradner’s June 21, 1951 letter in place as the earliest documentary evidence of plans for a wetsuit.

While it is clear that we owe a debt of thanks to all the early developers of this critical aquatic garment, Hugh Bradner rates a special place in the pantheon of wetsuit development. Without the wetsuit, the popularity of surfing would be limited only to the summertime. Cold comfort in increasingly crowded line-ups, true, but infinitely better than using an itchy wool vest ill-suited to the rigors of sport. Though he is reluctant to claim it, Bradner is truly the “Granddaddy” of the wetsuit.

Admittedly, there is no “Bradner Eliminator, Psycho II or Vapor” wetsuit on the market today, since he never patented the idea. So the next time you pull on a thin, flexible and toasty wetsuit, take a moment to appreciate not only its creators, but its evolution and innovators.

Endnotes

1. Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
2. Hanauer, SIO, June 2001
3. Scripps was later the first group to develop SCUBA certification procedures under the guidance of Connie Limbaugh in the 1950s at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in San Diego.
4. “Wet Suit Pursuit: Hugh Bradner’s Development of the First Wet Suit,” Rainey, Scripps Archives, UCSD.
5. See www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523
6. Surf Industry Manufacturers Association ( SIMA) Retail Distribution Survey, July 9, 2007
7. Received patent 2582811 in January 1952 by Harvey L. Williams of Hadlyne, Connecticut

Acknowledgements

Thanks go out to Harold and Suzy Ticho for providing the inspiration for this story on the origins of the wetsuit and the life of their dear friend and colleague Hugh Bradner; Deborah Day, Archivist of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Archives was invaluable in providing thorough documentation and photos of the wet suit, and Bradner’s contributions; Carolyn Rainey of Scripps for her intelligent SIO paper (#98-16): “Wet Suit Pursuit: Hugh Bradner’s Development of the First Wet Suit”; and Eric Hanauer for his insightful Scripps Oral History interview with Dr. Bradner.

Mike Wallace has surfed for over two decades on the East and West coasts, Hawaii, Europe and NorCal. Currently a resident of Moss Beach with his family of four, he can often be found haunting the beaches south of Devil’s Slide in search of the perfect sandbar with his dog, Moose.

Related posts:

1. A Waterman’s Tale: The True Inventor of the Wetsuit (Part 1)
2. Hugh Bradner, Inventor of the Wetsuit, Dead at 93 on Monday, May 5, 2008
3. Cold Water Chronicles, No. 2: 7 Seconds

This article, researching the true inventor of the wetsuit, is the first of two parts.

You check the swell, period and wind readings on SurfPulse, cackling at your good fortune that all the signals have aligned for an epic fall session in peaky, head-high, offshore conditions at your favorite beach break. With a muffled and wheezy cough on the cell phone, you call in sick to work and then reach for your wetsuit.

Not the slick, flexible and cozy superhero uniform you have come to cherish in 49-degree water temps. No, you don a scratchy oiled-wool sweater vest with a badly glued layer of paper-thin rubber already delaminating from the last session. Slap on a rubber skull cap and slather some Vaseline on your extremities. Lasting 15 minutes, you exit the water with purple lips and a Slurpee headache; your session is over before it began. Or it would be if you lived in 1949, two years before the dawn of the wetsuit.

Wool swimming suits from earlier days were picked up at Goodwill or the Salvation Army to help keep warm in the pre-wetsuit days. Rich Thompson, Harry Murry and Bob McCullah posed for this photograph.

This is a waterman’s tale of one unsung hero, a patriotic and humble university physicist, Hugh Bradner, who first solved the riddle of keeping mankind both wet and warm in the ocean. What closely followed was the refinement and commercialization of the wetsuit by two well-known rivals, O’Neill and Body Glove, pioneers who nurtured the market.

After the surfboard, the wetsuit is the next most critical piece of technology driving the popularity of surfing around the globe. Sure, in wintertime we’re grateful that somebody had the foresight, motivation and skills to first glue one together. For those of us not blessed to be living within a latitude or two of the equator, however, wetsuits are required year-round equipment taken for granted. The story spans from the very first post-war efforts to battle the cold with ill-fitting woolens to the latest “H-Bomb” battery-powered, Arctic-slaying heated wetsuit from Rip Curl.
(www.ripcurl.com)

Neoprene

Without neoprene there would be little debate over the creation of the wetsuit. If not for neoprene and the nitrogen-infused air bubbles it traps close to the skin, there would be no flexible insulation for divers and surfers. According to About.com historian Mary Bellis, Wallace Hume Carothers was the brilliant father of modern man-made fabrics—inventor of both nylon and neoprene. He left a professorship at Harvard to head DuPont’s newly formed research division in 1928 and ultimately was credited with over 50 patents.

DuPont began producing neoprene in 1931. Nylon was unveiled in 1938 as an alternative to silk when trade relations soured with the U.S.’s main supplier, Japan, ahead of the war. Fast-forward 69 years and that former adversary now produces the vast majority of the best neoprene blends for wetsuits, adding nylon, spandex and even treated wool back into the mix for stretch and warmth. (See wetsuits on www.patagonia.com) Thought likely to have suffered from manic-depression, Carothers swallowed a small dose of cyanide he always carried on his person and ended his life in April 1937, a year before the gift of nylon was delivered to the world.

Wikipedia

The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, hedges on the topic of the wetsuit’s creator, but does appear to lean towards Hugh Bradner’s principle role: “It is difficult to credit a single individual for the creation of the modern wetsuit. In 1951, while working for the U.S. Navy, Hugh Bradner had the insight that a thin layer of trapped water could act as an insulator. It was a colleague of Bradner’s who suggested neoprene as a feasible material. However, Bradner was not overly interested in profiting from his design and never marketed a version to the public; nor did he patent his design. The first written documentation of Bradner’s invention was in a letter dated June 21, 1951.”

The Encyclopedia of Surfing

Surf historian Matt Warshaw suggests: “The wetsuit was a result of WWII-funded developments in plastics and rubber. In 1951, looking to make underwater work more comfortable and productive for U.S. Navy divers, U.C. Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner began testing prototype wetsuits constructed from various unicellular polymeric materials, including neoprene. The navy declassified Bradner’s wetsuit designs the following year and encouraged commercial production, a decision that would eventually bring relief to surfers who were then wearing rubber caps and oil-steeped woolen sweaters as a defense against the cold.”

The O’Neill Story

Corporate legend has it that Jack O’Neill “circa early 50’s” water-tested various combinations of wool, rubber, PVC plastic and even “old WWII frogmen suits” (www.oneill.com). Indeed, after serving in the Army Air Corps, O’Neill moved to the frigid waters of Ocean Beach, San Francisco in 1952, and sought the means to extend his water time and earn a living. Dale Velzy and Hobie Alter were generally credited with creating the first board shops in Southern California. But O’Neill was the first to offer the whole bar of wax. He ultimately provisioned intrepid Northern surfers with boards, wetsuits, travel bags, wax and more, staking his rightful claim as creator of the first modern “surf shop” and even patenting the idea.

North Coast Surfers, Pedro Point...1961 or 1962. Left to right: Babe Kane, Don Valdivia, the little boy in front...Michael Ho, now a professional surfer from Hawaii, Stan Ross, LeRoy Pukahi, unknown, Alex Dias, Dave Zarte, unknown, Dick Notmeyer, Charlie Carlson, Steve Krolik (Zen Budda), Bill Craig, Roy Lutzi, Don Briemle, Frank Freitas, Bud Lavagnino, Mal McKenzie, two little kids...Kenny and Hanalei Yasso, Buddy Carlson, Bud Ruegg, Steve Zarate, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, ?, ?, ?, ?

O’Neill history holds that Jack “discovered neoprene foam carpeting the aisle of a DC-3 passenger plane,” though aviation experts cited by Wikipedia dispute this claim, since early neoprene was highly flammable and not well-suited to that dangerous use. This online resource also claims that it was Jack’s brother, Robert O’Neill, who created the first wetsuit designs for the company they founded together. Who knows what sibling rivalry lurked behind closed doors, but it was Jack who took charge of the business.

Regardless of how O’Neill sourced the material, he soon applied it to a variety of designs and his shop flourished. Success eventually drove him to relocate operations to 41st Avenue in Santa Cruz before it exploded into a global company. The business was largely managed by family members. Son Pat was credited with inventing the first practical surf leash, though surf pioneer Tom Blake in the early 1930s was reputed to have invented a leash that was fastened around the waist, not ankle. In fact, it was the recoil from a surgical tubing leash prototype that cost Jack his eye, resulting in the infamous swashbuckling eye patch logo. Jack O’Neill retired in 1985 to a seafaring life of leisure and charity, handing the reins over to Pat.

The line between machismo and hypothermia is a fine one and can likely be drawn right at Rincon Beach Park, south of Santa Barbara, where North and South surf cultures collide. Acceptance of the first Short Johns and Beaver-tail suits was not immediate—those inclined to insulate themselves were considered lesser men by stubborn and hardcore veterans. But increased warmth meant increased water time year-round and more rapidly improving skills. In the end, practicality won out and even the leash, or “kook cord,” as it was first snidely branded, is now virtually universal. Surfers are arguably worse swimmers for it, but better at board riding as a result.

Among the key product developments by the company over its history, O’Neill cites “wetsuit innovation, first surf shop, first surf leash, first surf boot, first glued and blindstitched construction, the Supersuit, the board bag, Animal suit, Zen zip closure and drain hole, double fluid seam weld construction, customized suit program, and the Mutant modular closure system.”

The culture of innovation at O’Neill has helped win customer loyalty and grab as much as 50% of the U.S. wetsuit business, according to a Transworld SURF retail survey. Since 1997, O’Neill has filed for five U.S. patents (1). To be sure, the company deserves credit for many highly useful innovations that have kept water men and women warm and comfortable, though credit for the birth of the first wetsuit may lay elsewhere. As often said, “It’s always summer on the inside.”

The Body Glove Story

Life-long watermen twins Bob and Bill Meistrell were similarly instrumental in the early commercialization of the wetsuit in Southern California and quickly recognized the importance of the developing market given their diving, surfing and lifeguarding exploits. They were brought into the business in 1953 via an $1800 buyout of Hap Jacobs’ stake in the Dive N’ Surf business based in Los Angeles with partner Bev Morgan, who later exited the business in 1957.

The entertaining and informative Body Glove corporate history, “The Story” (www.bodyglove.com) says that the brothers experimented with the usual wool and rubber combinations and found that neoprene backing on refrigerators might make a useful insulator for wet suits. Morgan reckoned they cranked out 1000–1500 orders for surf shops in the early days (2), a pace that burned him out and prompted him to cash out to the Meistrells.

The tag on Body Glove wetsuits to this day proudly touts “Since 53” in a soft jab at their dominant major Northern Californian rival, O’Neill, following apparent legal wrangles on the origins of the wetsuit. That rivalry mirrors the titanic North-South rumble between Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz for the legal rights to claim the mantle of “Surf City, USA,” recently won by Huntington. The Meistrells marketed the suits under the name Thermocline until 1965, when they hired a marketing pro to help them come up with the name Body Glove, as in “fits like a glove.” Under the original Dive N’ Surf designation, Bill Meistrell has three U.S. patents since 1987 (3).

On July 26, 2007, founders Bob and Bill Meistrell were awarded a prestigious granite stone on the Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach in the category of Surf Culture for “creating the wetsuit.” The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, which claims to be the “first surfing museum in the world,” having opened its doors in 1986, does not similarly anoint a northern wetsuit inventor on its website, nor does O’Neill claim it outright. While Body Glove deserves accolades for pioneering advancements in the wetsuit along with O’Neill, history shows that the story is more complex and intriguing.

Despite the inference by both O’Neill and Body Glove that they hold the keys to the wetsuit’s origin, due credit for the concept must be shared by a third waterman. In a Los Angeles Times article, “Surfing whodunit,” (4) Dive N’ Surf founder Bev Morgan admitted to trawling the Scripps library in La Jolla, California, and finding a 1951 report on wetsuits for the Navy, admitting that “Hugh Bradner invented the wetsuit, the first to use neoprene and come up with the whole concept.”

The Bradner Story

Dr. Hugh Bradner, 1972

An avid waterman from infancy, according to family lore, Hugh “Brad” Bradner (b. 1915) was chucked off a pier by his father into the water at the age of three to sink or swim…he swam. Bradner graduated from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) with a Ph.D. in physics, where he also coached the swimming and water polo teams, and was one of the first Americans to make a deep water SCUBA dive (5). As a nuclear scientist, he was among a trio who established Los Alamos in 1943 and he worked as a research scientist at Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at U.C. Berkeley.

However, it was his work for the U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory that led to his pioneering research on the wetsuit, as a means to keep Navy SEALS warm and insulated against underwater explosions. He rounded out his illustrious scientific career as professor emeritus at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at U.C. San Diego.

Consulted by the military and an active member of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), he was uniquely qualified to fuse science with ocean exploration. On many levels, Bradner worked in an era when the security of the country was paramount and collaboration was the most effective means to that end. It also explains Bradner’s evident reluctance to claim his rightful role as inventor of the wetsuit. That claim was just never important to him, then or now, despite the evidence in his favor.

(Click here for Part 2 of this article.)

Endnotes

1. 6375770, 5913592, 5898934, 5896578, and 5693177 for seam bonding, a water sport boot, neck entry wetsuit, zipperless neck entry wetsuit and an apparatus for adhesively bonding seams
2. The Surfer’s Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1, Pg. 49
3. 4915046, 47016673, 5191658 on innovations including seam construction, liquid pack and retention device, and an offset zipper (www.patentstorm.us).
4. Oct. 11, 2005, by David Eisenstadt
5. Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Acknowledgements

Thanks go out to Harold and Suzy Ticho for providing the inspiration for this story on the origins of the wetsuit and the life of their dear friend and colleague Hugh Bradner; Debor
ah Day, Archivist of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Archives was invaluable in providing thorough documentation and photos of the wet suit, and Bradner’s contributions; Carolyn Rainey of Scripps for her intelligent SIO paper (#98-16): “Wet Suit Pursuit: Hugh Bradner’s Development of the First Wet Suit”; and Eric Hanauer for his insightful Scripps Oral History interview with Dr. Bradner.

Mike Wallace has surfed for over two decades on the East and West coasts, Hawaii, Europe and NorCal. Currently a resident of Moss Beach with his family of four, he can often be found haunting the beaches south of Devil’s Slide in search of the perfect sandbar with his dog, Moose.

Related posts:

1. A Waterman’s Tale: The True Inventor of the Wetsuit (Part 2)
2. Hugh Bradner, Inventor of the Wetsuit, Dead at 93 on Monday, May 5, 2008
3. XCEL Wetsuit Found at Ocean Beach on Saturday, November 3, 2007

Anyways, the point is, somewhere along the way I picked up the strange habit. This got me to thinking: what other surfing quirks have my fellow surfers and I acquired over the years? Surfers are a strange breed, and the ritualistic nature of the sport lends itself to peculiar behavior. I decided to compile a list, with the help of a few friends, of a few unusual rituals that you may identify with or even observe at your local break.

Waxing the Surfboard

This is the granddaddy of all surfing rituals. Wax provides a crucial connection between surfer and board. Indeed, as recently noted by Chris Mauro in Surfer Magazine, the mystique of waxing a surfboard is “like a little Zen ritual.” Watch a surfer wax their board, and you’re likely to witness a practice that is both methodical and highly personal. Regardless of how much wax I already have on my board, I will always rub more on prior to going for a surf. Always. It may be a superficial amount, but somehow it offers a strange confidence that goes well beyond simple traction.

Peeing in the Wetsuit

Many cold water surfers I know have a routine around peeing in their wetsuit. I personally never pee in my wetsuit until after I’ve caught my first wave. I’m not sure how I obtained this one—I only know that to do so will bring me bad luck, a bad session, or both. (Note: this ritual has been known to cause minor discomfort in the lineup on inconsistent days.) The question of whether or not to pee in your wetsuit to begin with—a timeless debate amongst surfers—is a decision every surfer has to make for themselves.

Pre-Surf Meditation

Many surfers I speak with perform a type of meditation prior to entering the water. For some, this might be a few minutes of quiet time, breathing and relaxing on the beach. For others, it can be a full-on spiritual exercise involving handholding and extensive prayer. Most, however, perform some sort of mental exercise, either consciously or unconsciously, before paddling out. With the exception of competitive and professional athletics, I can think of few sports in which everyday participants mentally prepare to the extent that surfers do. Then again, come to think of it I can think of few sports where peeing is also part of a regular ritual…

Waxing The Palms of the Hands

Okay, so this may be one of my own personal rituals, and I actually haven’t heard of anyone else doing it, but I encourage everyone to try it. It’s a recently developed quirk for me, and it really is quite functional. I’ve always been one of those who waxes the rails of their surfboards, for increased grip on the board while pushing to stand. I decided to take this a step further, and actually apply the wax to my palms. It’s particularly helpful when you have sunblock lotion residue on your hands (see above). Somewhere along the way, this became a pre-surf ritual, and now I have a hard time entering the water without a quick, ah, “palm waxing.”

The Pre-Surf Bathroom Visit

Let’s be honest: surf preparation has a tendency to provoke certain urges. How many times have you been checking the surf, only to find yourself scrambling for a restroom moments later? This occurrence has for many led to the formation of a certain, er, routine prior to surfing. There are varying theories on the causes, ranging from general excitement to “fight or flight”-type responses. Some surfers I know claim that for them the smell of neoprene alone is enough to induce a bowel movement. Research actually reveals that there is a scientific basis for this pre-surf phenomenon-turned-ritual. It seems our enteric nervous system, which stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, and gall bladder, can react to changes in our emotional state, such as fear or excitement. This can result in a hyperactive gastrointestinal system, and, in turn, the need to find a restroom—quickly.

Always Ride a Wave In

No matter how flat the surf goes, I will never paddle in without catching a last wave. Never, ever. Even if it means finishing a session on a six-inch closeout, I will attempt to ride it in. I don’t know why, but I know something bad will happen to me if I paddle in without at least making the effort. Almost every surfer I’ve ever known adheres to this sacrament, which is probably why, even when the waves are inconsistent or nearly non-existent, you’re likely to still see surfers patiently waiting out in the lineup for that last wave to come.

Get some waves. – DL

Related posts:

1. The Ecosystem of a Surf Spot
2. Standing Up, Good Surf, and Smiles
3. Good Morning