Bob Meistrell, co-founder of world-famous Body Glove, died Sunday in Southern California. He was 84.
Meistrell reportedly died of a heart attack while aboard the Disappearance, which was traveling back from Catalina Island as part of the Rock 2 Rock paddleboard competition.
Bob was born July 31, 1928—20 minutes after his brother Bill, who was born July 30. He spent his early years in Missouri before moving to Manhattan Beach with his family at the age of 16.
In the 1950s Meistrell and his brother Bill developed a wetsuit with the insulating material used in the back of refrigerators. The streamlined suit fit like a glove and eventually was marketed under the name Body Glove. The company just celebrated it’s 60th anniversary this year. Bill Meistrell died in 2006 at age 77.
“We love the ocean and everything you can do in it,” Bob Meistrell told Forbes magazine earlier this year. “We’re in the hall of fame for diving and the hall of fame for surfing. For two kids from the farm that’s a real kicker.”
Bob will be greatly missed in the California diving community.