- O'Neill (brand)
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For O'Neill family, see O'Neill dynasty. For the sportswear manufacturer, see O'Neills.
O'Neill, Inc. 
Founded Santa Cruz, California (1952) Headquarters Santa Cruz, California, United States Key people Jack O'Neill & Pat O'Neill Products Apparel, sporting goods, Swimwear, Surfwear, Website http://oneill.com O'Neill is an American surfboard, surfwear and equipment brand that was started in San Francisco, California, but soon moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. Some credit the company with having invented the modern wetsuit. They now also make clothing and their clothing division is headquartered in Irvine, California with their surf division still in Santa Cruz.
In 1996 O'Neill set up the O'Neill Sea Odyssey, a free, ocean-based program to educate young people about the marine environment.
In Europe, O'Neill is based in Warmond, Netherlands.
Contents
History
In 1952 Jack O'Neill opened the first surf shop in a garage on the Great Highway in San Francisco, CA. a sand dune away from his favorite bodysurfing break.[1] While Dale Velzy, Hobie Alter and others had shops down south, they only sold boards. There O'Neill sold his first wetsuits, a few vests he made from gluing together pieces of closed cell foam. From the garage he expanded the average surfer's playground to include locations from Steamer Lane to J-Bay, and from Antarctica to reef breaks off the coast of Iceland.
Since then, O'Neill has made countless improvements to the design and quality of the wetsuit. From the introduction of the zigzag stitch to the names he originated which became generic, (i.e. spring suit, long john, short john, etc.).
O'Neill's son Pat was a pioneer in developing the leash, affectionately known as the "kook cord" back then. Using materials such as nylon lines, suction cups and surgical tubing, Pat found ways to prevent his board from crashing into the cliffs and breaking in half. While testing a leash, founder Jack O'Neill lost an eye and now has to wear an eyepatch.
The O'Neill brand now branches out to many products. Wetsuits, surfboards, boardbags, swimsuits, clothing, and shoes are some of the products on which O'Neill prints their logo.
O'Neill has teamed up with Royal Philips Electronics to produce in-ear headphones.
See also
- List of swimwear brands
References
- ^ Surfline.com, accessed 2007-08-31
External links
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