Force Fins, a Brief Chronology

By Chris Kostman

1971:	Bob Evans first begins to outline the design.
1971-1980:	Research and design.
1980:	At Lad Handelman's suggestion, Bob commits his life to fins.
1982:	Bob licenses Body Glove to produce the fin, and they release it to the diving and surfing markets.
1983:	Bob meets Susanne Chess and a personal and professional partnership is born.
1983:	Force Fins introduced to fishing market.
1983 & 1984:	At DEMA show, everyone points and laughs at the fins.
1984:	The Sharper Image catalogue begins selling Force Fins. By 1987, they will have sold nearly $1 million worth of the fins.
1985:	Bob and Susanne get married.
	License with Body Glove terminated.
	Tariq Kadri becomes a financial partner in the company.
1985-1988:	Contract litigation in order to recover trademark. No sales. Bob and Susanne, due to spending all resources on litigation, live in loft at company warehouse.
1988:	Force Fin rereleased by Bob and Susanne to diving, swimming, and fishing markets.
1990:	Primary patents formerly issued to Bob.
	Brian Chang, a Singapore industrialist, joins company as financial partner.
	Slim Fin launched specifically for swimming market.
1991:	Rip Force launched specifically for body boarding market.
	A Fitness Swimmer Magazine survey of swimming products at the New York Marathon finds that the only company with higher name recognition is Speedo.
	Performance Diver catalogue begins selling Force Fins. To date, only five pair have been returned.
1993:	Adjustable foot pocket fin introduced for swimming and fishing markets.
1994:	Tangent Delta Force Fin introduced at a new price point of $279.
1995:	Extra Force Fin, with patented variable thrust winglets (Force Wings) attached, introduced—selling for $219 or $475, depending on material.
	Force Fin overall sales at a level fifteen times above 1988.
	Force Wings introduced as an aftermarket attachment for any fin on the market
	Moved into a new 3,600 square foot location. Over100,000 pairs of fins sold to date.

QUOTE
Bob Evans: "From 1980 to 1983, I averaged ten hours every single day for two and a half years working on the original design. It was so insane that when I was done with the project, I had not done my laundry for two and a half years. I just kept buying new swim trunks and t-shirts. So I went to the laundromat and I filled up every single washing machine."

WHY
Suzanne Chess: "It's an example of how you have to perservance and be like a barnacle and just never let go. You just have to push it through."

For the rest of the Force Fin story, click here.

To visit the Force Fins website, click here.