The history of the wetsuit

Hugh Bradner, 1951

In the spring of 1951, Hugh Bradner — a physicist at UC Berkeley — was tinkering with equipment for the US Navy's underwater "frogmen." His breakthrough insight: divers didn't need to stay dry to stay warm. A flexible material with small gas bubbles could trap a thin layer of water against the skin, which the body would heat. That's the principle every wetsuit still uses today.

Bradner tested his first suit in Lake Tahoe, among the ice. He didn't get warm, but he didn't become hypothermic either. He sent his findings to Larry Marshall at the National Research Council, and six months later, development of the first wetsuit began at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory.

On November 13, 1952, Bradner got the green light to produce wetsuits commercially. He formed EDCO (Engineering Development Company) with a group of Berkeley engineers. But the suits were crude — stiff, hard to get on, and fragile. The Navy showed limited interest. Bradner never patented the design. He made his documentation public.

Bev Morgan and Dive N' Surf, 1953

That public documentation ended up at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where a diver named Bev Morgan got his hands on it. In 1953, Morgan opened Dive N' Surf in Redondo Beach, Southern California, and started hand-making wetsuits — Long Johns and front-zip jackets. The early suits were thick, fragile, and a nightmare to put on. Neoprene had no lining, so surfers had to cover themselves in talcum powder or cornstarch just to slide in. Rash and chafing were constant. Seams snapped regularly.

The Meistrell brothers — Bill and Bob, identical twins from Manhattan Beach — bought into the business in the mid-1950s after Hap Jacobs (the original co-founder) wanted out. They borrowed $1,800 from their mother for a one-third share each. By 1957, they'd bought Bev out completely. The company eventually became Body Glove.

Jack O'Neill and the marketing revolution

Jack O'Neill was a body surfer in San Francisco who opened his first surf shop on the Great Highway near Ocean Beach in 1952. He was experimenting with foam rubber vests, PVC-coated creations, and even kerosene-soaked sweaters — anything to extend sessions beyond 20 minutes in freezing water.

When neoprene became available from Rubatex, O'Neill started making vests, front-zip jackets, and Long Johns — similar to what Morgan was building down south. But where Bradner and Morgan focused on the product, O'Neill focused on the market.

Surfers resisted wetsuits for years. Wearing one was seen as soft. O'Neill's genius was convincing surfers that wetsuits weren't for wimps — they were for people who wanted to surf longer and better. He opened a second shop in Santa Cruz in 1959 and built the brand that still carries his name, even though O'Neill didn't invent the wetsuit.

Early materials and construction

The first wetsuits had no lining — raw neoprene against skin. No blindstitching. No chest zips. Seams were taped with rubber, and the suits tore easily. The nylon lining revolution in the 1960s made suits dramatically easier to put on and far more durable. Front zips gave way to back zips, which later gave way to chest zips, and now zipperless designs are gaining ground.

Where we are now

The industry produces roughly 6 to 7 million wetsuits per year. SHEICO alone makes about 65% of them. Natural rubber is replacing neoprene at the top of the market. Wetsuits are thinner, lighter, and more flexible than anything Bradner or O'Neill could have imagined — but the basic principle hasn't changed since 1951: trap water, let your body heat it, and keep the cold out.