Brand: Zone3

Zone3 has quickly become one of the most exciting and successful triathlon brands on the market by creating high performance products which year on year have achieved the highest industry reviews based on speed, comfort, price point and innovation.
Zone3 was presented with a Queens Award for Enterprise at Buckingham Palace in 2018. This is the highest achievement which a UK business can win and is a result of ten years of hard work and a continuous pursuit of perfection in every product which is developed.
The company was built with the athlete in mind right from the very start and the product-first philosophy ensures that the customer is always getting the best performing product whether it’s for training, racing or leisure. Zone3 offers a collection which is ideally suited for beginners all the way through to professionals.
The range which includes wetsuits, apparel, swimwear and accessories was launched in 2009 after years of research and development by elite athletes at Loughborough University; one of Europe's leading sports research facilities.
The key to Zone3’s success is that they don’t just rely on sports technology and lab testing but, more importantly, listen to customers and use their feedback to further improve each product.
Every fabric and panel is carefully selected and designed to maximise the customer experience and thanks to this attention to detail, Zone3 has become the number one selling brand in the UK and one the fastest growing in Europe.

HOW THE BRAND WAS STARTED
The brand was started by elite athlete James Lock in 2007 to support his triathlon career. James was a national standard swimmer and runner and won the World Aquathlon and World Biathle Championships before starting triathlon at Loughborough University with a sports scholarship. His strength in the water was clear and he would lead a number of the swims from the front even beating Olympic Champion Alistair Brownlee out of the water.
After graduating with a first class engineering degree, James started to race at elite level in triathlon whilst also building on his business ideas. With an in depth knowledge of the triathlon world, James looked to design a range of products that would not only sell and fund the costs of competing internationally, but also products that would increase his performance.
Loughborough University was the perfect place to set out designing world class sports products and a huge amount of testing with elite and amateur athletes was done before the first range was released.
Zone3 knew they were on the right track when, in their first year of trading, the Vanquish wetsuit got a 9/10 review in 220 Triathlon magazine. Subsequently, in 2010 the Aspire wetsuit got a 10/10 review; the only wetsuit to ever receive full marks. Since then, Zone3 have won countless number of awards and made ground breaking advancement which cements their position as one of the leading triathlon brands in the world.