The Red Bulletin February/March 2020 (UK)

RISING SEAS WETSUIT
Toxic waves
Two marine specialists have teamed up to
envision the future of surfing – it’s terrifying
and amazing at the same time
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1. LED DISPLAY MASK
This presents data
from the control
centre in a visual form
2. GRIP PADS
Located on the torso,
shoulders, elbows,
knees and feet, these
ensure adhesion in
oily conditions
3. SMART SEAMS
Using built-in ironoxide
nanorods, these
track bacteria levels,
water toxicity and air
quality, and light up to
indicate dangerously
high radiation levels
4. CONTROL CENTRE
This is where the raw
data from the smart
seams is processed.
The data is accessed
via the touchscreen
and sent to the mask
5. ANTI-R JERSEY
Woven from polyester
threads, nano
particles of lead and
anti-algal substances,
the suit’s material
inhibits radiation
and pollutants
Imagine the scene: the tide is
low and the waves are pumping,
so you grab your board and
head down to the beach for
an early morning surf session.
On the sand, you pull on your
wetsuit, gloves, booties and
full-face mask, switch on your
respirator, and look at the
glowing dashboard on your arm
to check the current bacteria
levels, water toxicity, radiation
and air quality. Then off you
run towards the infected water,
safely protected by your suit’s
toxin-and-radiation-absorbing
bio-defence system…
This is the terrifying image
that surf brand Vissla and nonprofit
environmental protection
organisation the Surfrider
Foundation have created with
their conceptual Rising Seas
wetsuit – a futuristic bio-defence
suit designed to enable surfers
to “face the emerging ecological
crisis” while in the water. The
garment will tell you when solar
radiation is dangerously high,
protect your body from toxins,
and send messages of caution
through an LED display mask.
“We wanted to design
something high-tech that
people would really want, like
when the newest gadget or
iPhone comes out,” says Chad
Nelsen, CEO of the Surfrider
Foundation. “Hopefully they’d
then be hit with the reality of
how sad and scary it is that
we might need something like
this in the future.”
As yet, this wetsuit is only
a concept, engineered by the
two companies to make the
public sit up and take notice,
but they claim it could soon
become the norm if we don’t
quickly change our ways. “You
could really wear this wetsuit
in certain places in the world
today,” says Vince De La Peña,
Vissla’s vice president of global
marketing. “There are places
where the water pollution is
already that bad.”
risingseas.vissla.com
VISSLA LOU BOYD
18 THE RED BULLETIN