The making of HUUB

HUUB’S NEW AGILIS SWIMSKIN IS THE LATEST APPAREL OF INNOVATION FROM THE SELF-PROCLAIMED PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DERBADOS. 220 HEADS TO THE EAST MIDLANDS TO FIND OUT MORE…

Huub have something of the disruptor about them. Is it down to being based in Derby, the East Midlands industrial city that brought us the Rolls Royce and its first aero engine? Possibly. But more likely it’s down to their founder, Dean Jackson, who by his own admission didn’t shine at school. In fact, he harboured ambitions of becoming the UK’s first qualified male nanny before striding into the sports sector. Jackson doesn’t conform. He enjoys doing things differently. And this is why the concept behind their new swimskin, the Agilis, stemmed from the most disruptive period in the world of swimming.

“We’re talking about Swimsuit Wars,” Jackson reflects with a wry smile. “This was around 2008, 2009 and I was working for a different wetsuit manufacturer at the time. Basically, after a raft of world records, FINA [the Federation Internationale de Natation] banned non-permeable swimsuits.”

Such swimsuits trap air, increasing buoyancy and delivering a speed advantage. Speedo’s LZR was the groundbreaker, claiming a staggering 179 pool and open-water world records in 18 months. The rules were tightened but Jackson, ever the innovator, spotted an advantage that was legal.

“I got talking to professor Huub Toussaint,” Jackson explains. “He explained to me that if you can squash and squeeze your torso, you present a smaller frontal area to the water. You cut drag and turn yourself into a torpedo. It’s why that nineyear-old in the next lane can swim faster than you even if their power is less.”