Finis

JOHN MIX BRINGS THE MONOFIN TO THE U.S.A 1988

John Mix had his first encounter with a monofin during a semester abroad in Austria. Monofin in hand, John returned to the States convinced that this tool was the next big thing in aquatic sports. With the ambition to start a monofin company, John began studying patents in Silicon Valley under the direction of his father, Jerome (Jerry) Mix.

Shortly after applying for his first patents, John’s beloved father and mentor was diagnosed with terminal cancer. During Jerry’s final months, he urged John to be patient and postpone plans for a monofin business until a better opportunity presented itself. Leading with his heart, John decided to change course and focus his time and energy on working with his brothers’ business.

Pablo Morales, John’s high school friend and teammate, wins the Gold Medal in the 100 meter butterfly in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. Shortly after the Games, John and Pablo met up for a reunion swim to catch up on the pair’s many adventures. John’s monofin quickly became a major conversational topic, and he could sense Morales’ interest growing. There it was, the opportunity, “the sign” that John had been waiting for. That day, John and Pablo agreed to start a monofin business together.

Under the direction of John’s oldest brother, Jerry Mix, Jr., John and Pablo created FINIS Incorporated and quickly got to work on a design for the first FINIS monofin. The first models consisted of a rubber foot pocket mounted onto a single fiberglass blade.

Busy at work in John’s garage, the idea for the Swimmer’s Snorkel emerged and received immediate validation from renowned coach and ultimate mentor, Nort Thorton of University of California-Berkeley. John and Pablo had developed a center-mount snorkel designed for the competitive swim market - the very first prototypes of the Swimmer’s Snorkel were made of ABS sprinkler tubes and a unique molded head bracket.