Body Glove Story

The life story of twin brothers Bob and Bill Meistrell is an all-American rags-to-riches tale of building the Body Glove empire and creating the California lifestyle dedicated to the ocean.

--after their father was killed when they were only four, Bob and Bill grew up on a farm near Booneville, Missouri, far from the oceans, but they had the spirit of adventure and an instinctive love for exploring the water. They taught themselves to swim early and by age twelve had rigged a makeshift diving bell out of a wooden crate and descended into the depth of the farm pond.

--when they moved to Manhattan Beach as teenagers in the 1940's, Bob and Bill instantly took to the ocean, joining with the other pioneers of California surfing including the legendary Dale Velzy and Greg Noll to form the Manhattan Beach Surf Club. Cementing their commitment to the water and establishing their credentials as true watermen, Bob and Bill became L.A. County Lifeguards, then scuba divers, then vital participants in the First Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Course (1UICC), joining the first group in the world to become certified scuba instructors.

--Bob and Bill borrowed $1800 and bought out Hap Jacobs and became partners with Bev Morgan in 1953 to develop Dive N' Surf into southern California's premiere retail store dedicated to surfing and diving, while continuing to surf every day, lifeguard, and operate a commercial diving business. Bob and Bill went on to expand the business to offer full lines of surfing and diving equipment, classes and apparel at multiple locations and thereby create a southern California retail institution introducing untold numbers of people young and old to the oceans.

--Bob and Bill found a new insulating material called Neoprene and invented the first practical wetsuit, opening the cold California waters to year round enjoyment for surfers and divers, including early giants of surfing like Greg Noll, Mickey Munoz and many more. The suit "fit like a glove" and Body Glove was born.

The Meistrells hired a marketing consultant, Duke Boyd. Duke asked about the characteristics of the suits and Billy said, "They fit like a glove," so Duke came up with the name Body Glove.

During the 1980's aspiring professsional surfers in America had a problem. They had no system to work their way on to the world tour. Early on, Body Glove was involved with professional surfing, including their sponsorship of the Body Glove Grand Prix, a mini-tour based in Southern California. The Meistrell Group saw the value and importance of having a professional surfing tour in the United States. They also saw the opportunity to bring these events and the sport of surfing to mainstream America. At this time they purchased the fledging PSAA from founder Joey Buran. Also around this time one of the younger Meistrell's had a futuristic vision of pro surfing in America and he formed an important alliance with Anheuser Busch and Marketing man, Don Corsini. Together they built the Budweiser Surf Tour which hosted pro surfing events all across the mainland U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. This tour helped surfers like Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and Pat O'Connell along with numerous others qualify for the prestigious World Championship Tour WCT.

McPhail History

Mission Statement

Recognize the opportunities, build the key partnerships and re-invest into our teams future.

Our Roots

The present day "McPhail Sports Limited (MSL) was established in 1907 by two close friends, who formed McPhail and Fisher Limited. The business involved the manufacturing and retailing of leather apparel in Canterbury, proving to be very prosperous in the early years, later diversifing into the manufacturing of textile garments.

In the late 1920's the Company put an emphasis on retail and established the Departmental store of "McPhail and Fisher" in Manchester Street, Christchurch. Around that time, the Canterbury Province saw other family based retail business grow, such as Ballantynes, DIC Beths and Hallensteins.

In 1938, the Fisher Family sold its shareholding back to McPhail's, and a new generation of McPhail's were destined to follow in their founders footsteps.

The Second Generation

In 1939, Brothers Clem and Neil McPhail joined the Company, expanding the business to include sporting goods. Both brothers were keen sportsmen spending a lot of their time and dedication to a sport they both loved, which was "rugby". Their involvement and achievements were rewarded with Clem becoming an Adminstrator of the Game and Neil, an All Black and NZ Selector.

Manufacturing Leads The Way

In 1955, Clem and Neil McPhail both retired leaving Clem's son, Ian, to join the Company as the Managing Director.

Once again, the direction of the company changed, the retail operation was closed and the manufacturing side was expanded to it's peak, staffing 130 employees.

The Company was soon to become the market leader of leather fashion and textile garments in New Zealand.

Over the years to come, the NZ market place was to change, importation of fashion and textile garments grew and McPhail's slowly phased out manufacturing and focused it's energies into becoming a major importer of apparel and sporting goods.

The Future Is Set

Today McPhail's has two majority shareholders within it's company, Ian and his son, Andrew McPhail, along with Alastair McPhail on the Board of Directors.

Over the years of importing licensed products, along with McPhail's own manufacturing base in Asia, Taiwan and Thailand, the Company has built strong alliances and friendships, with key partners being "Body Glove USA" and "The Warehouse NZ".

A subsidiary company solely owned by McPhail's "Protech Brands Limited" (PBL) was set up in 2000 with "Tradescene Aust" to distribute licensed brands in apparel, footwear and sporting goods in NZ, and to date holds valued relationships with licensing giants, Warner Bros, Nickelodeon Group and Gaffneys Australia.

McPhail's recently purchased its own modern 50,000 square foot building surrounded by beautiful award winning gardens, to accommodate it's offices, warehousing and distribution center located at 234 Annex Road, Christchurch.