verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message body glove international llc type subsidiary industry sporting goods founded 1953 founder bill meistrell & robert meistrell headquarters redondo beach california u.s. key people robert meistrell ceo russell lesser president number of employees 51 2007 1 parent dive n surf corporation private company website body glove body glove international llc is a surf skateboard watersports brand started in the united states . body glove was founded in 1953 by twin brothers bill and bob meistrell . the brothers are often credited for inventing the first practical wetsuit in the early 1950s in the back of their redondo beach california surf shop dive n surf . from those wetsuits body glove branched out into other product categories they now make wetsuits swimsuits clothing shoes life vests sunglasses wakeboards towables backpacks phone cases and snorkeling equipment . in 2016 body glove launched a line of physical therapy and rehabilitation products with houston based retail partner mmar medical . the line includes joint supports and sleeves for injury prevention and stabilization . contents 1 history 2 sponsorship 3 body glove photos 4 references 5 external links history edit body glove was started by identical twins in missouri bob and bill meistrell . moving to manhattan beach in california in 1944 they became interested in surfing and were one of the first to put fiberglass on the nose of their surfboards to protect the foam filled plywood boards . in 1953 they found the insulation used in the back of refrigerators neoprene worked well for the first practical wet suits . bob and bill borrowed 1800 from their mother and each bought one third of the local sports shop called dive n surf . the meistrells designed and tailored their own brand of wetsuits . in the beginning the wetsuits were named thermocline . the meistrells did not think this was a great name so they hired a marketing consultant duke boyd . duke asked about the characteristics of the suits and billy said they fit like a glove so duke came up with the name body glove . they were among the very first crop of south bay lifeguards . the company s headquarters is in redondo beach california . 1 founders bill and bob meistrell outside of dive n surf sponsorship edit the company s pro surfers include jamie o brian dusty payne gabe kling mike losness alex gray cheyne magnusson nate yeomans holly beck bruce irons 2 body glove sponsors pro wake boarders rusty malinoski harley clifford bob soven shelby kantar and jeff mckee . body glove photos edit body glove wetsuit santa cruz body glove store references edit retrieved from http cbs2.com topstories local story 274164015.html on 2007 03 28 bruce irons . volcom youth against establishment team surf . volcom inc. 2011 . retrieved 15 may 2011 . external links edit body glove website body glove facebook site body glove european website body glove performance site retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title body glove & oldid 732531268 categories companies based in los angeles county californiacompanies established in 19531980s fashionsurfwear brandsredondo beach californiahidden categories articles needing additional references from february 2010all articles needing additional referencespages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages portugu s edit links this page was last modified on 1 august 2016 at 15 56 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view