Follow the bear

You might have spotted swimmers proudly wearing a polar bear on their chests... But what does it mean? With 40 years in the industry, we meet the man behind that iconic logo and the Snugg wetsuit brand...

- Helen Webster

Enter the world of triathlon and pretty soon you’ll hear whispers of a wizard at work. A man who can craft your triathlon wetsuit to suit just you. Measurements will be taken, buoyancy discussed, thermal comfort noted. “I’m on the waiting list,” these whisperers say. “I’m going to see Malcolm.” Within time, you’ll start to notice the signature of the wizard – athletes branded with a white polar bear across their chest, wearing a wetsuit you may not recognise from the advertising of the big brands.

Actually – scratch the fluffy creative editorial intro here. Nobody whispers about Snugg wetsuits, they shout about them. The brand has been going so many years it’s ingrained in triathlon history. As for the wizard himself? This is Malcolm Ball and he’s stood in front of me in board shorts and a T-shirt, brandishing a huge set of neoprene shears and a tape measure and looking more like an ageing surfer dude than a wizard.

SURF ORIGINS

We’ve been trying to get some time to interview Snugg for these pages for a couple of years now, but the team are so busy keeping up with demand for their made-to-measure swim and surf wetsuits that they simply haven’t had time to fit us in. As the only company we’re aware of providing this service and with open-water swimming seeing such a boom, that’s not suprising. So what’s the story behind this man and his unique business?