In 1996 O'Neill set up the O'Neill Sea Odyssey, a free, ocean-based program to educate young people about the marine environment. In the 1950s, Jack O'Neill opened his first surf shop in a garage across the Great Highway in San Francisco, a sand dune away from his favorite bodysurfing break. Jack created the modern-day surf shop. While Dale Velzy, Hobie Alter and others had shops down south, they only sold boards. There he sold his first wetsuits, a few vests he made from gluing together pieces of closed cell foam. From that very garage Jack expanded the average surfer's playground to include locations from Steamer Lane to J-Bay, and from Antarctica to reef breaks off the coast of Iceland. Thanks to Jack O'Neill, "It's always summer on the inside."
Since then, O'Neill has made countless improvements to the design and quality of the wetsuit. From the introduction of the zigzag stitch to the names Jack originated which became generic, (i.e. spring suit, long john, short john, etc.).
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