S C U B A D I V I N G F U N E X C I T M E N T A D V E N T U R E

DUI

How It All Began

'The story behind Dick Long and DUI’s success is one of inventiveness, skill and a dedication and passion for diving and underwater safety standards and comfort.

Dick Long came to San Diego in 1963 with $2800, an old air compressor and a used truck. Beginning as a pure boot-strap operation, he now employs almost 100 people in the United States and Scotland, building a wide variety of products aimed at protecting people who work in hostile aquatic environments.

Dick Long
Dick has dedicated more than 40 years to virtually every facet of the diving industry, always with the foremost consideration for the safety of the diver. His personal experiences include saturation diving to 1,100 feet, and arctic diving in water temperatures of 28°F (approx. -4°C). He has been a consultant to commercial companies and military organisations involving deep ocean technology extending man’s capabilities further into the sea, and for outlining safe diving procedures.

Dick Long is the founder and President of Diving Unlimited International (DUI) who are the international leaders in drysuits and thermal protection, design and manufacture. DUI products have achieved international acclaim in the recreational, military and commercial diving sectors. '

Dick Long & DUI Making History
'The accomplishments of Dick Long and his staff have played a key role in the evolution of diving. As long ago as the early ‘60s, Dick Long was working with the underwater Demolition Teams to provide longer lasting underwater protection. His initial success led to a consultation assignment with SeaLab II, which deployed off the coast of La Jolla, California. From there he was called on by the offshore oil industry to provide solutions that allowed their divers to remain underwater longer. His hot water systems enabled divers to significantly increase their dive time. A diving equipment retailer at the time, Mr Long sold the business and focussed his energy on improving diver performance and comfort. The goal was to create a drysuit that would approach the same level of thermal protection as a hot water suit. Along with chief engineer Bob Stinton, he developed a number of technological advances – company patents- that have since become industry standard. These breakthroughs have given divers the means to increase the depth and length of their dives in the harshest conditions. To this day Dick Long remains very active in testing and applying his knowledge to further applications of DUI’s drysuit technology.'