OK he probably wasn’t a world class surfer, and this list isn’t about ‘industry’ dudes as such, but at the same time, sometimes you just have to bow to greatness. Jack lost an eye testing the leash, his son Pat’s invention (presumably too elastic, that one) wearing the product he pioneered, the wetsuit. He trademarked the term ‘surf shop’ in the 60’s, although never enforced it. While the Meistrell brothers of Body Glove fame in LA perhaps made wetsuits first, o’Neill’s were the first specifically for surfing, with a nylon weave laminated to the neoprene, and such innovations as zig zag stitching. you’re able to surf in winter (and in summer too, probably) in no small part due to him.
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