Source: Good News Network
The story of how a surfer-turned-inventor ended up helping people be safer and feel more confident in the water starts one day at a local surfing area near Ventura, California.
On that day, Santa Barbara resident Mark Okrusko was surfing Rincon, one of his favorite breaks, when he wiped out and was held beneath the water by the waves.
“While I was waiting for the white water to release me,” Okrusko said, “I came up with the idea of a suit designed with an extra breath of air.” His inspiration led to his first invention: the Breathvest, a wetsuit with an air bladder in the chest that would provide swimmers with a small air supply.
While the goal was to help surfers have an extra breath of air, Okrusko soon realized: “The air bladder made it easier for people to float and swim in water. People who wore the suit loved how they could swim so easily. So I came up with the idea for the Floater.”
Instead of an inflatable air bladder, Okrusko developed a patented foam pad so people could float, and founded a company Airtime Watertime.
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While the first suit was aimed at surfers and water sports enthusiasts, the second suit found an unexpected audience. “We started getting orders from people with disabilities, people who had suffered mobility injuries, and people who were afraid to swim but wanted to get back…
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