OUR STORY

Seaquel Wetsuits was founded in 1989 by North Shore local Bill Wildridge. 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the brand. Bill learnt the art of wetsuit-making in the early 1980s working for Moray Wetsuits, back when local NZ textile manufacturing was less rare and Moray had its manufacturing operations in Devonport. When Moray took its manufacturing off-shore and exited the dive market altogether, Bill saw an opportunity to fill a gap; it wasn’t long before Bill was manufacturing homegrown New Zealand diving wetsuits under his own label, “Seaquel”, supplying the likes of commercial divers, Government agencies, tourism operators, marine researchers and a strong local community of divers.  

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Since day dot, functionality, quality, durability and integrity were the defining pillars of the Seaquel brand. Transitory fashion trends were sidelined in favour of a focus on making high-quality wetsuits that did what wetsuits are supposed to do – keep you warm - and were durable enough to stand up to the kinds of hard, prolonged use that Seaquel’s customers put them through. Seaquel quickly earned a reputation for making the warmest, most durable, longest-lasting wetsuits out there – suits that would last for years and could be passed down the family line. In 2012 Bill handed the reins to Clinton Boucher, who now runs the business alongside a small but hugely experienced team of wetsuit crafters and sewing machinists who have been with Seaquel since the beginning. 

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Despite most other brands taking their manufacturing off-shore, seeking cheaper manufacturing in China or Taiwan, “cheap manufacturing” and “cheap wetsuits” are not something that Seaquel has ever aspired to, or ever will. Even if the average diver  doesn’t understand what “quality” really means in a wetsuit, or even ask for it, we do. For us it is a matter of integrity and respect, both for ourselves, our products, and the people who wear them. We only sell high-quality wetsuits, carefully hand-crafted by our team from the best materials out there, that are built to last. And we know that's the case because we do everything ourselves – we design the wetsuits, we look over your measurements, we make your pattern, we cut the neoprene, we print, sew, glue and construct your suit, we package it, and we ship it to you. We have total knowledge and control over the materials that go into our suits and the workmanship that creates them. The same thing goes for our customer service: our 'office' is our factory, so you have a direct line to the people who make your suit. If you want to speak to a "real person" you can call us or feel free to pop in to our factory in Auckland.