E. Michael Johnson with the exclusive interview of Rick Reimers.
GW: So the media-bashing of Lisa Pavin is off-base?
RR: Absolutely. That is a totally misplaced affair. We knew there was going to be a challenge with the large appliqués and embroidery, but we dealt with that appropriately. We wouldn't have let the suits out the door if we didn't feel we did that.
GW: How long ago did work begin on these outfits?
RR: About three months ago. We did about 20 different designs and prototypes that we showed to Lisa Pavin.
GW: Were there any red flags at all in the process?
RR: We thought the design and the amount of embroidery might make the garment a little heavier and stiffer. We weren't originally happy with that element of the design because the suit is a stretch garment and that takes some of that away from it. But there were no concerns about water getting in. I may have underestimated the kind of rain they would get over there, but I've used the garment in heavy rain fishing in a boat for four hours and had no problems.
GW: There was some talk the players were concerned about the suits during the practice rounds.
RR: Not at all. We had Ann Hughes from our company there nonstop, and she was in communication with Lisa Pavin, and we saw players wearing the suits in the rain and did not hear of any problems, which says to me that in normal rainy conditions the garments performed just fine. But the monsoon-like wind with lots of wind Friday was not normal conditions.