Long time Katy resident Mark Strickler, together with his business partner Franklin Smith, have recently invented a new type of life jacket/personal floatation device which will come on the market in the summer of 2024. The pair founded their company in 2019 (now with four employees) and spent over two years developing and testing the unique device, which goes around the wearer’s waist rather than the upper body.

“The overall process took about seven years to develop the product and then get it tested,” the inventor said. “COVID slowed this process down quite a bit.”

“The Body Buoy is the first of its kind United States Coast Guard Type3/Level 70 approved PFD that you wear like a pair of shorts instead of a jacket,” said Strickland. “It operates and meets the same standard as the life jackets available online or at your local sporting goods store. It took almost two years to go through all the testing that the UL puts it through.”

“The biggest difference is obviously how you wear it, but some of the biggest reasons people love it is that it doesn’t rise up under your arms or neck when you’re in the water, and it frees your upper body up to move more freely,” Strickland said. “It’s not as hot on the body – oh, and no tan lines!”

Strickland says that the device is made up of buoyancy foam with neoprene skin covering it. Neoprene is a soft, cool material that is extremely comfortable, he said.

“I invented it because I felt that fact that it was so much more comfortable than a standard life jacket that maybe more people would actually wear one instead of just storing them under the seat,” Strickland said. “Over 85% of all boat drowning victims do not have a PFD on. I since learned that it is also an amazing product for aquatic exercising and rehabilitation.”

“The idea came about when we were swimming at the lake and people were wearing standard life jackets upside down on their body -- looked like a big diaper. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it worked great -- it allowed you to sit in the water and relax,” said Strickland. “My daughter was doing this, and it was extremely uncomfortable and as a joke a cut a hole in the back of her life jacket as a joke to fix the problem. The Body Buoy was born on that day! I started researching and found there was nothing like out there, so I applied for a patent and got one in 2018. I then reached out to the Coast Guard to see if there was any reason why they wouldn’t approve something like this and they explained the test, and as long as it passes the safety test, it can get approved.”

Strickland believes the Body Buoy has the potential to change the life jacket industry. The product is available exclusively online at www.thebodybuoy.net. The current price is $69.95 each but the company runs all kinds of specials, Strickland said. “Katy Red is on sale for $50 till the end of January,” he noted. “Our target market is anyone who has a boat, kayak or paddleboard and then you have anyone who want to do deep water aquatics needs aquatic rehab.” View the product at www.Thebodybuoy.net or on FB, Instagram and YouTube @thebodybuoy.

Strickland has lived in Katy for 46 years now, graduating in 1986 from Katy High School where he was Class president and the John Culpepper Award winner in football. “Coach Joseph was my Defensive Coach when I was playing,” said Strickland. “All of my kids have also graduated from Katy.”