Speedo was founded on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, in 1928. Building on the nation’s active beach lifestyle and the growing acceptance of swimming as a competitive sport, MacRae Knitting Mills produced a racer-back “costume” (or swimsuit) for men and women. The original marketing slogan for the suit was, “Speed on in your Speedos,” a phrase that was so popular the company permanently changed it’s name to Speedo. Incidentally, the Speedo logo is called the “boomerang.”

In 1960, Speedo America was born and the brand continues to thrive at the grassroots level in the U.S. even today. After a request from Bill Lee, a Santa Clara Swim Club executive, to supply U.S. athletes with Speedo suits, an arrangement was made for fellow Santa Clara booster and Pan Am pilot Frank Metlick to bring suits back from Australia. Lee worked the pool decks relentlessly, sharing information about how Speedo suits could help swimmers to go even faster. By 1963, 126 of 137 competitors at the National AAU Championships wore Speedo suits and the brand’s 40-year racing dominance in North America had begun.