Athena Pathway, the British Team for the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup, and Olympic athletes using Intego Pro
AN entrepreneur with a love of sailing said he will be proud to see his product play a “little part” in the success of British sailors this summer.
Christchurch-based Intego Pro waterproof sunscreen has just been made an official supplier to Athena Pathway, the British Team for the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup.
Company director Russell New said he is also proud to see his product, specifically designed for sailors and watersports athletes, being used regularly by British Olympians.
Russell told the A&T he was inspired to create the product after being unable to find good quality waterproof sunscreens in the UK, and hearing the same complaint from other watersports enthusiasts.
“I’ve been sailing my whole life in Finn class dinghies and doing other watersports in Christchurch waters,“ he said.
“For a few years I had been buying waterproof sunscreens from the US but they still weren’t that great.”
Russell said he discussed the problem with British windsurfer Emma Wilson, who won bronze in the RS:X event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The pair agreed they had never found a sunscreen that worked well.
“Emma told me she had even tried to create her own waterproof sunscreen,” Russell said. “So that inspired me to try to create one.
“I’m not a chemist but I reached out to another firm to begin to develop a product.”
Russell said he and his business partner Charles Hall set up Intego Pro in 2020, although Russell had been working on developing the sunscreen for four years prior to that.
“We made our first product in 2022, so we’re in our second full season now and it’s going really well,” he said.
“Our intention was to create something for people with a focus on watersports and sailing. It has to last a long time and be water resistant, which a lot of them claim to be but are not.
“For our product the proof is in the pudding and in the feedback we get from sailors and watersports athletes.”
Russell said he is “absolutely thrilled” to now officially supply the product to the Athena Pathway.
“Anna Burnett, who’s a Nacra 17 class sailor for Britain and an Athena Pathway team trimmer, said she nicked some of our sunscreen from a teammate and asked if she could get some, so I said, ‘of course’.
“I’ve sent boxes to the British team sailors and we get pictures of them using it back which we use in our social media.
“The key for us was feeling like we’re going in the right direction with this product and the feedback we’ve received has always been positive.
“We’ve got a fantastic summer of sailing and watesports ahead and I’m happy Intego Pro will play a little part in that.”
Intego Pro is available on Amazon and directly from the online store and some retailers.
