The fascinating story of how Simon Smart and Dan Bullock created Otion Swim Paddles

The other day, I had the pleasure of speaking with Simon Smart.

Simon started his career in Formula 1 before striking off on his own to set up Drag2Zero. Here he combines his passions for product development and sporting performance, first with cycling and, more recently, swimming.

From his work in Formula 1, Simon knew wind resistance could make a massive difference to cycling performance. He set about creating products to help cyclists achieve optimal aerodynamics.

His interest in swimming comes through his participation in triathlon. While trying to improve his swimming, he quickly realised big gains could be made by swimming with better technique.

On a training camp, he met Dan Bullock, founder and head coach of Swim for Tri. As an experienced swimmer and coach, Dan knew that optimising the gap between your fingers while swimming front crawl increases the amount of water you can pull. But swimmers often find that difficult to achieve.

Dan had an idea for an innovative hand paddle to help swimmers achieve this finger spacing. However, he didn’t know how to turn his prototype into a marketable product – Simon did.

The two began a collaboration that resulted in the Otion Swim Paddle, which looks unlike anything else on the market but is a great addition to your kit bag.

Simon explained how they used 3D printing to create a series of models. They took each new version to the pool for testing, then went back to the design studio to make further refinements.

The final result is a paddle that not only helps you achieve better finger spacing while swimming, but it also rewards and reinforces efficient stroke mechanics. The paddles are also easy and comfortable to use. You can read a review over at Outdoor Swimmer.

While speaking with Simon, I realised that, intentionally or not, he had applied Renaissance thinking to this project. He’d drawn on experience and knowledge from a range of disciplines, he developed the product through experimentation and iterative design, and he’s created something practical that helps improve performance.

I expect there is more to come.

If these ideas capture your imagination, sign up for the Renaissance Swimmer project to explore them further in both your swimming and your day-to-day life.