Bob Meistrell, Body Glove Co-Founder, Dies

This article was originally posted at 9:40 p.m. on June 16. It has been updated multiple times since then.

Bob Meistrell, the co-founder of wetsuit manufacturer Body Glove, died early Sunday morning, according to a note from Body Glove President Russ Lesser.

Meistrell was 84.

Meistrell died of a heart attack while aboard the Disappearance, which was traveling back from Catalina Island as part of the Rock 2 Rock paddleboard competition.

Bob and his twin brother Bill Meistrell, who passed away a few years ago at the age of 77, designed, manufactured and sold the first commercially viable neoprene wetsuits, according to Lesser.

"His motto was, 'Do what you love, love what you do,'" Lesser wrote.

• Related: City Flags at Half-Staff to Honor Bob Meistrell

Born July 31, 1928—20 minutes after his brother Bill, who was born July 30—Bob spent his early years in Missouri before moving to Manhattan Beach with his family at the age of 16.

The twins eventually developed their first wetsuit and, along with a couple of other business partners, bought Dive N Surf in Redondo Beach in 1953.

"We love the ocean and everything you can do in it," Bob Meistrell told Forbes magazine earlier this year. "We’re in the hall of fame for diving and the hall of fame for surfing. For two kids from the farm that’s a real kicker."

Bill Meistrell died in 2006 after battling Parkinson's.

In 2009, Bob Meistrell was recognized as the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce "Man of the Year."

Body Glove, which is still based in Redondo Beach, will celebrate its 60th anniversary later this year.

"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," according to Lesser. "The others have either gone broke, gone public, or sold out to someone else.

"It is a shame that Bob will not be able to be with us during the 60th anniversary celebration."