Mark Okrusko of Santa Barbara was surfing near Rincon in California one day when he wiped out and found himself being held underwater by the waves.

“While I was waiting for the white water to release me,” Mark said, “I came up with the idea of a suit designed with an extra breath of air.”

This experience led him to create the Breathvest, his first invention ever. This wetsuit includes an air bladder in the chest that provides swimmers with a small air supply. Initially, this air supply was meant to help surfers get some extra air, but Mark soon realized that there was another benefit to it as well.

“The air bladder made it easier for people to float and swim in water,” he said. “People who wore the suit loved how they could swim so easily. So I came up with the idea for the Floater.”

Mark founded Airtime Watertime and created a patented foam pad that allowed people to float and was aimed at disabled people.

“We started getting orders from people with disabilities, people who had suffered mobility injuries, and people who were afraid to swim but wanted to get back in the water,” Mark said. “They were searching on the Internet for some kind of suit that would keep them afloat.”

One person who has benefited from the pad is Gustavo Ritterstein, who has been a quadriplegic since a 2013 ATV accident. Gustavo said that after he started using the wetsuit, “I was able to swim in the ocean again for the first time in years. With the suit on in the water, I was just like everyone else. You couldn’t tell I was disabled.”

“Feeling, at least for a moment, normal—it does make a big difference in your life,” he added.

Mark is surprised but happy about all that has happened thanks to his inventions.

“We didn’t start out to change lives,” he said. “We just wanted to make swimming a little safer and fun. But every week, someone writes us to say how we’ve helped get them back in the water. It’s amazing.”