RIP: Bob Meistrell

[drbill]

I received a call earlier tonight telling me that Bob Meistrell had passed away of an apparent heart attack while on a boat off Catalina Island this weekend. I waited until I got two confirmations before posting anything here as I know very little about the details.

As many of you know, Bob was a legend in the diving industry. He and his brother Bill owned Dive N' Surf dive shop here in SoCal and started Body Glove.

Personally this news hit me hard since Bob and I were working with Mayor Bob Kennedy of Avalon to prepare a web cam to be placed in the Casino Point Dive Park this summer. Bob M had come up with the idea and had approached me to work with him on this. He wanted people to be able to watch garibaldi mate live on the Internet. He was preparing the camera and housing and Bob K. was working on the uplink to the Internet.

Bob was a regular reader of my Dive Dry with Dr. Bill column and often told me how much he enjoyed it. I was pleased to know my writings gave pleasure to a man who contributed so much to the dive industry over his lifetime.

My condolences to his family and his many, many friends.

 

[Quero]

That's definitely a loss for the worldwide scuba community. Thank you for the thoughtful tribute to your friend and to your friendship that you've posted.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I woke up at 4:30 Am and this was a message I received from a mutual friend:

"Body Glove co-founder Bob Meistrell dies on boat returning from Catalina Island
Bob Meistrell, a surfing and diving legend who co-founded Body Glove with his identical twin brother, Bill, died Sunday, the company announced. He was 84.
Meistrell was on his boat, the Disappearance, on a return trip from Catalina Island when he had a heart attack and could not be revived, Body Glove International President Russ Lesser wrote in an email.
"His motto was 'Do what you love, love what you do,' " Lesser said. "He will be greatly missed."
With his brother, who died at 77 in July 2006, Meistrell launched a company designing, manufacturing and selling the first commercially viable neoprene wetsuits.
They had joined the fledgling Dive N' Surf shop in Redondo Beach in 1953, and became sole owners by 1957. It was several years afterward that they'd coined the term Body Glove -- a logo that today adorns swimsuits, trunks and much more.
The company plans this year to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
"To our knowledge, Body Glove is either the only original 'surf' company left that is still privately owned and operated by the family that started it, or one of very few," Lesser's email said. "It is a shame that Bob will not be able to be with us during the 60th anniversary celebration."
kristin.agostoni@dailybreeze.com"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have know the Meistrell brothers, Billy and Bobbie as dear friends, associates, and fellow LA County Underwater Instructors for almost 60 years. Their passing is a great personal loss to me but a huge loss to the diving industry.

It is indeed the end of an era..

RIP

SDM

 

[BVickery]

Bill,

My condolences on the loss of your friend and a member of the diving community.

 

[drbill]

I wrote this week's "Dive Dry with Dr. Bill" column about Bob. You can read it here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ma...dry-dr-bill-542-rip-bob-meistrell-legend.html

 

[dead dog]

Meistrell and his twin, Bill, made wetsuits that enabled surfers to stay in the water longer and more comfortably than ever before. The firm does more than $200 million in business each year.

Body Glove co-founder dies while boating near Catalina - latimes.com

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Two of Bob's many passions were driving the Disappearance and diving in small submarines. He explored three hundred feet down in the Redondo Canyon in this one.

He said they found a sunken buoy, lawn chair and lots of plastic...basically like Vet's only deeper.

While Dave Jensen surfs the waves, Bob gets ready to high-five us.

 

[blue steal]

Thanks so much for sharing the story dead dog.

 

[Scared Silly]

Having lived in the South Bay and shopped at Dive N'Surf there will always be a soft spot for Body Glove. A passing of a legend who brought a lot to the diving and surfing world while having fun.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2xsIAjaD_0&list=PLCB30DC30C2549F65

This is a 17 part series with Bob.