In the world of surfing, innovation often takes a backseat to tradition, but there's a story of a quiet revolution that's been simmering for over two decades. It's the tale of Chris Lyons, a surfing pioneer who has been quietly toiling away in his Torquay garage, developing a heated wetsuit that could change the way we think about staying warm in the water. This is not just a story of a single product; it's a narrative of persistence, innovation, and the power of a single idea to inspire a global community.
Lyons' journey began with a simple question: why hasn't anyone created a heated wetsuit that works? The answer, it turns out, is that wetsuit technology hasn't changed much in 70 years. It's neoprene with some nylon or polypropylene lining, which the marketing departments call Heat Seeker or Furnace in a bid to evoke warmth. But at the end of the day, it's all pretty similar. Lyons decided to take matters into his own hands and create something that would make a real difference.
His first attempt was a wetsuit with pockets under the arm and in the lower back housing chemicals that, when combined, warm up to 50 degrees. This product, called Hotsuits, won a segment on ABC’s New Inventors and sales started to roll in. However, Lyons' vision was not fully realized. He approached Rip Curl and Quiksilver, who saw merit in the idea but went about it in a wholly different way. They did, at least, draw attention to the idea even if neither company stayed the course.
Lyons shifted his heating method, incorporating battery heaters into a kidney belt. Yet like Rip Curl and Quiksilver, he also dropped the idea, largely driven by the expense of scaling up his business. But Lyons' determination never wavered. After a flurry of innovation, the heated wetsuit was dropped cold, yet demand once existed and the ingredients were, seemingly, all available.
The eureka moment came in tropical Sri Lanka. Following a mid-career crisis, Lyons decided to ride a motorbike around the island. When his phone's charging port died, he bought a then-new wireless charging pad. He laid his phone on the pad and it accepted the charge without him knowing it could. This sparked an idea: technology had finally caught up to his brain!
Lyons realized that all he needed to do was get rid of all the wires, the cables, the connectors, and put a heating element inside the heaters. The corrosion problem that had undone all earlier warmers was solved. No external wires. No connectors. No wetsuit either - he'd already moved past that and was working on a standalone product that worked under any wetsuit.
The clearest description is this: Two self-contained heating units, sealed in epoxy resin, sit inside two pockets of a kidney belt, while a wireless wristband controls the heat setting. The location of the heaters - atop the kidneys - isn't arbitrary. The kidneys have good blood flow. The area sits in a natural hollow of the lower back, which means the belt doesn't impede movement. And warming the core, rather than the extremities, is how the body's thermoregulation actually works.
Lyons' product, now called Wettie Warmaz, has been a slow burn in the surf market. Australian surfers, in particular, have a cultural resistance to admitting they feel the cold. But the product has found its way into the hands of divers, cave divers, and ice divers, who have embraced it for its effectiveness. Lyons now has three of the top ten diving influencers globally using the product and has sold out of the dive version entirely.
In the end, Lyons' story is a testament to the power of innovation and the importance of staying true to one's vision. It's a reminder that sometimes the greatest breakthroughs come from quiet, persistent efforts rather than grand gestures. And it's a story that's just beginning, as Lyons continues to refine his product and explore new markets. From my perspective, this is a story that deserves to be told, and it's one that will continue to unfold as Lyons' vision takes shape in the world of surfing and beyond.
