Zone3

Zone3 was founded by James Lock, a former elite triathlete and national-level swimmer who began designing his own swim and triathlon gear — drag shorts, fins, then wetsuits — to fund his own racing and shave time off his swim splits. The early designs were tested and refined at Loughborough University’s Elite Triathlon Programme, where Lock built the brand from a single desk before turning to it full-time after a long-term injury ended his racing career.

That athlete-led approach has stayed at the centre of the business ever since. Zone3 wetsuits and trisuits have collected more industry awards from 220 Triathlon, Triathlon Plus and Triathlete USA than any other brand in the category, including the first ever 10/10 wetsuit rating in 220 Triathlon’s history. In 2018 Zone3 received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation, and in 2024 the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade — recognising both the design pedigree and the brand’s global growth. That same year, Zone3 became employee-owned, putting the company’s future in the hands of the people who build it.