In Conversation with Jim Standing: Fourth Element's Journey in Dive Gear and Ocean Conservation

Both of us—Byron and Andy—have been long-time fans of Fourth Element gear. Over in Iceland, Byron, who carries a nice layer of “bioprene” has relied on their drysuits for years to brave the chilly waters and has always turned to their wetsuits for tropical dives. Andy, on the other hand, is not exactly known for his love of cold water (or his tolerance for it). Let’s just say he appreciates warmth more than most—and while we could call him “sensitive to the chill,” there are certainly more colorful descriptions floating around. To keep things cozy, Andy swears by the Fourth Element Proteus wetsuit, which has become his go-to solution for his, let’s say, "highly developed" need for thermal protection.

Fourth Element has carved out a unique place in the diving world—not just for creating gear that performs exceptionally well but also for making divers feel like, well, divers. Over time, their ethos has evolved beyond high-quality kit to focus on giving back, reducing their environmental footprint, and inspiring others to do the same. It’s a brand that cares as much about the planet as it does about keeping us warm and looking good underwater.

While we were at DEMA, we managed to meet up with Jim Standing, the co-founder of Fourth Element, and asked him to talk to us about his scuba diving journey, why he decided to start his company, the company’s journey and its philosophy. In this interview, Jim discusses how his childhood passion for scuba diving led to the creation of a brand that combines innovative products with environmental responsibility. Jim explains the evolution of their products, from thermal gear to sustainable swimwear made from recycled materials. It was fascinating listening to Jim emphasize the importance of sustainability in their business model, describing their efforts to reduce single-use plastics and develop eco-friendly packaging. We also asked Jim to talk about some of Fourth Elements most innovative products, including the Halo AR undersuit for drysuits and the Seeker Mask, designed specifically for diving on trim. We hope you enjoy this interview.

IS: Thank you for meeting with us today, Jim. So tell us how you got into founding and running one of the worlds best known scuba diving brands?

JS: This is a passion project of mine since I was seven years old. I read the book Underwater Adventure by Willard Price where brothers Hal and Roger Hunt went on these crazy adventures, and I said, wait, that's what I'm going to do when I grow up, I'm going to go on underwater adventures.

IS: So you as a young man said, I want to be an Underwater Adventurer?

JS: Yeah, exactly.

IS: And how did it go from that to “I'm going to start one of the world's best underwater dive clothing brands?”

JS: I mean, it always sounds like such a cliche to say it started with a conversation over a beer, but it genuinely did.

IS: Where was this conversation?

JS: It was in Sharm El-Sheikh, right next door to the Camel Bar. Specifically, it was at the Sanafir, which, at the time, had this beautiful rooftop bar. These days, it’s a Pacha nightclub, but back then, it was this lovely, relaxed spot.

Strikey [Paul Strike, co-founder and CEO] and I were just sitting there after an amazing day of diving, talking about what we loved about diving—and, just as importantly, what we didn’t love about it.

IS: What was your scuba diving journey that led to that point?

JS: I learned to dive at 15 in a flooded quarry in Wales. It was freezing cold, and my dry suit leaked the entire time—but somehow, it didn’t put me off. What it did teach me, though, was that I couldn’t afford to dive the way I really wanted to.

So, I put diving on pause and went to university. In my final year, I specialized in the physiology of diving mammals, which led me to study fascinating topics like counter-current heat exchanges in the tails of dolphins and whales. It was incredible to see how nature had evolved to solve challenges that we, as divers, face every day.

That fascination turned experimental. At Cambridge, where I studied, they had these massive old baths you could fully submerge in. I started experimenting on myself, testing my metabolic rate in water at various temperatures. I even explored theoretical ways to extend a dive—like skip breathing—and studied how different strategies impacted metabolic cost.

It was an eye-opening experience, merging science with my passion for diving, and it laid the foundation for how I’d later approach the gear and innovations we developed.

IS: And you were trying to use what the natural world has got to offer you to counteract the effects of cold?

JS: Yeah, those kinds of things, and looking at diving from a peripheral perspective—not fully immersed in it yet, just newly qualified.

After university, I got a job and saved enough money to go to the Red Sea. The first time I put my head underwater there, in that beautiful, clear water, it was like something clicked. I came up, and I felt like I was back to being a seven-year-old. That was the moment for me. I knew: I’m going to do this now.

It’s weird, but I think this sport does something transformative to people. You know, in Spider-Man, when Peter Parker gets bitten by the radioactive spider, and you see those incredible visuals of his DNA changing? I’m pretty sure the heightened nitrogen levels in your blood do the same thing. Some people come up from their first dive, and their lives are never the same again. That was me.

After that, I spent a couple of years saving every penny. I wanted to see as many wild places as I could, dive in as many interesting spots as I could afford. So, I traveled—New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia—and dived in places like Sipadan and all those classic destinations. I didn’t want to become an instructor; I just loved diving.

But there was something missing for me. You’d look around, and there wasn’t anything you could wear that said, I’m a diver. Sure, you could buy a cheesy souvenir t-shirt—like one with a shark saying, “Send more tourists, the last ones were delicious”—but there was nothing cool, nothing like what surfers had.

At the same time, Paul was a dive instructor in the UK, crossing over from BSAC to PADI. He was diving in those freezing quarries and thinking, There must be better gear out there. Then the PADI head honchos came over for the IE [Instructor Examination], and they were freezing their asses off, too. Paul thought, If they’re freezing their asses off, surely they have access to the best gear.

So, we decided to do something about it. We set out to make better thermal gear and create a brand that divers could identify with—something that captured how we feel about being divers.

Because if we’re lucky, we might spend 1% of our lives underwater. But we’re divers 100% of the time.

IS: So what year was that?

JS: That was 1999, we had the initial idea and then we moonlighted for a couple of years whilst we kind of came up with the name and the logos and all that sort of thing.

IS: What was the first product?

JS: Officially, our first product was a T-shirt—it was the easiest thing we could do. It had Earth, Air, Fire, Water across the front, and we thought we’d made it big when we sold ten of them to a dive shop. That was one of those unforgettable moments. But, truthfully, I had bought a thousand of them to start!

The technical products came shortly after. We researched fabrics relentlessly, found someone willing to make a one-off, and put those products out there. Our first big release was Thermocline, which we positioned as a universal solution: wear it wet, wear it dry, under a dry suit, under a wetsuit, or even instead of a wetsuit. We thought it was genius, but divers looked at us like we were bonkers.

So, we pivoted to Xerotherm. It was designed to layer under the top dog at the time, the Weasel, and divers absolutely loved it. That success taught us a lot about listening to the community while still pushing for innovation.

IS: So how did you expand the brand?

JS: There’s a very famous TV presenter in the UK, Michael Parkinson—“Parky,” as we call him—who interviews actors and the like. One night, he was interviewing Ewan McGregor on TV. I was at home watching it, Strikey was at home watching it, and during the interview, Parky asked Ewan about his next adventure. Ewan had just returned from some jungle escapade and replied, “Well, I’m going to dog sled across the Arctic and do some ice diving.”

Parky asked, “So what do you wear to go ice diving?”

Ewan thought for a moment and said, “Oh, you wear a dry suit.” Then Parky followed up, “And what do you wear under a dry suit?”

Ewan looked straight at the camera and said, “I don’t know. If anyone out there has advice, please get in touch.”

The next morning, I rang Strikey: “Did you see Parky last night? Should we try it?”

We got the number for Ewan’s agent, who said, “Well, yes, he’s doing this project, but you really need to speak to his manager—his mum.” So, we called his mum. She said, “Oh, yes, it’s all happening, but you need to talk to Doug Allen. He’s setting everything up.”

Doug Allen, it turned out, is a hardcore, legendary BBC filmmaker. We called him, and in his soft Scottish accent, he said, “Oh yes, we’re doing all this Arctic stuff.” So, we sent Doug everything he’d need, and just for good measure, we sent Ewan McGregor a hoodie as well. Job done, or so we thought.

Three months later, a little box arrived. Inside were slides of Doug on the ice, wearing our Xerotherm gear. He said, “This is the best thing I’ve ever tried! Use the photos, market them, whatever you like.”

I thought, “Brilliant! But what about Ewan McGregor?” So, I rang his mum again. She said, “Oh, you’ll need to speak to his agent, Chiara.”

Chiara told me, “I’m really sorry. The ice diving isn’t happening. He got another high-paying movie, schedules got rearranged, and the project was shelved. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ve just put him on a plane to film the next Star Wars, wearing your hoodie.”

At that moment, I thought, Obi-Wan Kenobi wears Fourth Element? I could die happy now.

From there, it just snowballed. It’s about more than making great products that perform well. It’s about building a community around a shared love of being underwater. It’s about expressing that passion beyond the dive. And here’s the thing—if you see someone wearing our logo, you know one thing for sure: they dive.

IS: So when I think of Fourth Element, I think of innovative products, I think of a strong brand and a brand that I personally am proud to wear. But there's another side to it as well, you know, and one that we love is about the sustainability, so tell us a bit of your thoughts on sustainability.

JS: There’s been a journey—both personal and for the company—that we’ve been on. When we started, each year we tried to align ourselves with a charity working in the environmental space, like the Shark Trust or the Plastic Oceans Foundation. We’d design a T-shirt and donate the sales proceeds to the cause. One year, we gave $10,000 to the Shark Trust from those sales. It felt meaningful, like we were contributing in a positive way.

Then a friend of mine called me up and said, “Jim, I’ve just seen this presentation by some divers in the North Sea who are pulling up ghost fishing nets. The nets are being recycled into nylon that can be used for fabric.” And I thought, we’ve got to use that.

That was a turning point. We went from simply supporting good causes to embedding sustainability directly into our products. It wasn’t just about helping others anymore—it was about making a real difference through the core of what we do.

But it’s a process. You start at the surface of the rabbit hole, and the real work is deep down. We’re still on that journey. We began by making swimwear from this recycled nylon. We found an Italian manufacturer producing Lycra with it, and we launched an ocean-positive range. The first samples arrived...in plastic bags. The irony wasn’t lost on us.

So, we created beautiful cardboard and recyclable packaging for the range, thinking we’d solved the problem. But then we turned to the warehouse and saw everything else still wrapped in plastic. That was our next challenge.

This process has been one of the things I’m most proud of. It’s made us realise the importance of incremental changes and spotting opportunities to improve at every step. From sourcing recycled materials to eliminating single-use plastics wherever possible, to seeking natural alternatives that meet performance standards—we’re constantly pushing to do better.

These days, a better product isn’t just warmer or more effective. It has to be better for multiple reasons, including its impact on the environment. That’s the new standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s shaping everything we do.

IS: I strongly believe if you're going to keep young people in diving, you need to give them products to appeal to them, and like you said, it's not just about how the product looks and performs, they’re not really interested in the product unless it's giving something back or there’s some kind of sustainable method to it.

JS: Let’s not kid ourselves that it’s entirely altruistic—it’s existential. There’s that horrific video of the plastic soup off Bali, at Manta Point, where a manta ray glides through, surrounded by plastic. You watch it and think, who would want to dive in that?

If we don’t address the issue of plastic in the ocean, if we don’t tackle these problems, then no one will want to dive. And if no one wants to dive, we won’t have a business. Everyone here at the DEMA Show should recognise this—it’s not just an environmental issue, it’s a business issue, a planetary issue, and a human issue.

The challenge feels enormous when you look at it in its entirety. It’s easy to think, someone else will have to sort this out. But that mindset doesn’t lead to action. It brought us to the realisation: if we sit around waiting for others to act, nothing will change.

So, we asked ourselves, what can we change? We can change our company. We can change the way we work. If others want to join us on this journey and support what we’re doing, that’s fantastic. And while it’s been horrendously expensive compared to taking the easy route, so far, it’s been worth it.

We believe in what we’re doing. Change starts with us, and it’s reflected in my own personal journey too—like my decision to stop eating fish, and later to stop eating meat. It’s all part of the same commitment to doing better, for the ocean, for the planet, and for ourselves.

I used to bring home all my plastic waste from trips—bottles, wrappers—thinking I was doing the right thing by recycling it. But then I found out that a lot of recycling in England gets shipped to China, and I realized how absurd it was to bring a bottle back from Shanghai just for it to end up getting shipped back there again. Since then, I’ve changed my habits. I use a shampoo bar instead of bottled shampoo and soap instead of shower gel. These are small changes, but imagine if everyone stopped using things like plastic coffee cup lids. One person doing it helps, but if everyone joined in, it’d be huge.

I can’t tell people what to do, but I believe in leading by example. We need to care for what we have, for the sake of future generations.

As for diving, I still test the odd product, but I rely on more experienced divers for feedback. My son, who’s thirteen, has just said he wants to learn to dive, which is incredible. It means I can combine family time with diving again, guilt-free. I’ve also taken up open-water swimming in recent years—it’s a quick way to connect with the sea while staying close to home. I’m excited to see my son go through the whole diving process. Watching him take his first try dive will be amazing.

IS: What two products are you most proud of at the moment or you think are the most innovative or that you really want to discuss? Pick two.

JS: The Halo A°R is a project close to my heart—it’s been 17 years in the making. Back in 2003, I read about Aerogel in a magazine called Future Materials. It was developed for the space program and was an incredible insulator. I thought, "This has to be the future of dive insulation." I tracked down some manufacturers, bought sheets of it, and tested it on dives. But at depth, it crushed to sand.

I even discussed it with the US Navy Experimental Diving Unit who were testing a similar aerogel as well. They were impressed at first, but when I asked them to go deeper than six metres, theirs failed too  Over time, though, Aerogel technology improved, and eventually, we found a material that could handle pressure. It’s flexible, durable, and works brilliantly. [editor’s note - Byron has dived with it in the frigid waters of Iceland, and it’s a revelation]

Another development I’m proud of is the BIOMAP system for measuring people for drysuits without a tape measure or any contact.  This really was a group effort and we are very lucky to have some very talented and creative people in our team. Finding a technological solution to the age old problem of making sure someone’s measurements were taken accurately has helped us to bring further innovations to drysuits too. 

But what I’m most proud of is changing mindsets. When we launched Mission 2020, we committed to eliminating single-use plastic packaging. We could have kept it to ourselves, but instead, we challenged the industry. Around 150 organisations joined us, pledging to reduce or eliminate plastic waste. It showed that even in a niche industry like ours, we could make a difference.

As for the Seeker Mask, it’s a game-changer. No one had designed a mask specifically for diving on trim before. The Seeker offers a completely unimpeded field of vision in that position—it’s like taking a baseball cap off your head underwater. It’s also incredibly versatile, fitting about 95% of faces, including smaller ones. I’ve seen divers who’ve struggled for years with ill-fitting masks try the Seeker and say it’s transformed their diving experience.

IS: Great, thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Jim. Any last words of wisdom?

JS: It’s happening, and it’s not just about us—it can’t be. It mustn’t be isolated to us. This is something bigger. We all have a responsibility because, let’s face it, the ocean is what gives us our kicks, our joy, our sense of wonder. We owe it to the ocean to be its custodians. It shouldn’t be a choice, but it is. And it’s a choice we must make.