Bob Hollis: Diving Pioneer
Bob Hollis
Armand Zigahn, Founder and Executive Director of Beneath the Sea, announced that Bob Hollis, Founder and CEO of Oceanic, as Beneath the Sea's 2012 Diving Pioneer.
Bob Hollis took up scuba diving in the late 1950s when recreational diving was still in its infancy. His love for diving soon led to a keen interest in underwater photography, a hobby that required him to create his own specialized equipment. With a degree in mechanical engineering, Hollis started designing and manufacturing underwater camera and strobe housings in the machine shop behind the Anchor Shack, a retail sporting goods store he’d opened in Hayward, California, in 1965. Before long, divers and others were asking Hollis to make equipment for them, and a successful mail order business was begun.
In 1972, Bob Hollis founded American Underwater Products, doing business as Oceanic. The company started out with a dozen diving products, including the Anchor Shack’s photo line. Four years later, Hollis acquired Farallon, a manufacturer in nearby Belmont, giving Oceanic a full line of diving equipment, including an innovative line of instrumentation products.
“I saw digital instrumentation as the key to the future of diving,” explains Hollis. “Divers need to quickly and accurately calculate many variables, such as their depth, safe dive times, and decompression requirements to avoid the bends.” In 1981, the company introduced the DataMax, the first mechanical depth gauge with automatic digital timer. The product was an instant hit and propelled Oceanic to the forefront of dive equipment suppliers.
Armand Zigahn, Founder and Executive Director of Beneath the Sea, announced that Bob Hollis, Founder and CEO of Oceanic, as Beneath the Sea's 2012 Diving Pioneer.
Bob Hollis took up scuba diving in the late 1950s when recreational diving was still in its infancy. His love for diving soon led to a keen interest in underwater photography, a hobby that required him to create his own specialized equipment. With a degree in mechanical engineering, Hollis started designing and manufacturing underwater camera and strobe housings in the machine shop behind the Anchor Shack, a retail sporting goods store he’d opened in Hayward, California, in 1965. Before long, divers and others were asking Hollis to make equipment for them, and a successful mail order business was begun.
In 1972, Bob Hollis founded American Underwater Products, doing business as Oceanic. The company started out with a dozen diving products, including the Anchor Shack’s photo line. Four years later, Hollis acquired Farallon, a manufacturer in nearby Belmont, giving Oceanic a full line of diving equipment, including an innovative line of instrumentation products.
“I saw digital instrumentation as the key to the future of diving,” explains Hollis. “Divers need to quickly and accurately calculate many variables, such as their depth, safe dive times, and decompression requirements to avoid the bends.” In 1981, the company introduced the DataMax, the first mechanical depth gauge with automatic digital timer. The product was an instant hit and propelled Oceanic to the forefront of dive equipment suppliers.
