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| Surf wetsuit pioneer Jack O'Neill dies aged 94 | Surf wetsuit pioneer Jack O'Neill dies aged 94 |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Jack O'Neill, the pioneering US surfer and designer, has died aged 94. | Jack O'Neill, the pioneering US surfer and designer, has died aged 94. |
| He passed away peacefully at his seaside home in Santa Cruz, California, with his family by his side, O'Neill's friends told KSBW news. | He passed away peacefully at his seaside home in Santa Cruz, California, with his family by his side, O'Neill's friends told KSBW news. |
| He opened his first surf shop in San Francisco in 1952, and popularised the use of the neoprene wetsuit for coldwater surfing. | He opened his first surf shop in San Francisco in 1952, and popularised the use of the neoprene wetsuit for coldwater surfing. |
| His firm grew to become one of the world's biggest surf wear brands. His son took over the business in 1985. | |
| How surfing became a global lifestyle industry | How surfing became a global lifestyle industry |
| In an interview in 2011, O'Neill said: "Surfing for me was a very important part of my life. I'd work downtown in San Francisco and I'd get all screwed-up, and I'd go out and I'd jump in the ocean and everything would be alright again. | In an interview in 2011, O'Neill said: "Surfing for me was a very important part of my life. I'd work downtown in San Francisco and I'd get all screwed-up, and I'd go out and I'd jump in the ocean and everything would be alright again. |
| "All I wanted to do was surf, and when I opened that shop in my garage, I thought I would have a few guys there to sell suits and have guys to surf with. | "All I wanted to do was surf, and when I opened that shop in my garage, I thought I would have a few guys there to sell suits and have guys to surf with. |
| "One of the guys up there told me: 'O'Neill, you are going to sell the five guys on the beach and you are going to be out of business'. | "One of the guys up there told me: 'O'Neill, you are going to sell the five guys on the beach and you are going to be out of business'. |
| "Nobody is more surprised than I am about how this business has grown," O'Neill said. | "Nobody is more surprised than I am about how this business has grown," O'Neill said. |
| He also said that his proudest achievement was the Sea Odyssey programme, which introduced schoolchildren to marine conservation. | He also said that his proudest achievement was the Sea Odyssey programme, which introduced schoolchildren to marine conservation. |