Neoprene wetsuit pioneer Bob Meistrell dies at 84

ERJ staff report (BC)

Torrance, California – Bob Meistrell, who co-founded the Body Glove clothing company and helped develop the first neoprene wetsuit, has died in Southern California. He was 84.

Body Glove International LLC President Russ Lesser told the Torrance Daily Breeze that Meistrell suffered a heart attack on his boat on 16 June while returning from Catalina Island and couldn’t be revived.

In the 1950s Meistrell and his identical twin brother, Bill, developed a wetsuit inspired by the neoprene insulating material used in refrigerators. The brandname Body Glove was assigned on the basis that the streamlined suit “fit like a glove”.

The company celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

Bill Meistrell died in 2006 at the age of 77.

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Full story from Torrance Daily Breeze