1963 Three French athletes win the Spearfishing Team World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; they were: Hugues Dessault, Tony Salvatori and Robert Stromboni.
HUGUES DESSAULT & TONY SALVATORI
WORLD CHAMPIONS 1963, BRAZIL
1976 Hugues Dessault invent and patent the first plastic long fin. It was marketed through the Sporasub Company and became the world-famous Elite H.D. fin. The Dessault fin revolutionized free diving and was featured a few years later on the big screen in The Big Blue movie.
Hugues Dessault and Sporasub maintain close cooperation for several years. Hugues Dessault continues competiting under their brand and continue to develop new equipment designs.
1978 The H.Dessault factory open in Montpellier on the Mediterranean coast of France, initially aiming at manufacturing custom-fit wetsuits. It meet with great success due to the quality of the material, warmth and comfortable cuts.
1980’s Bernard Salvatori; son of Tony Salvatori; become H.Dessault equipment tester and sponsored competitor. During the next ten years of international competition, he achieve National, European, and World Class champion status. Bernard Salvatori is an experienced deep hunter, still diving regularly to 100 ft and below. Nowadays, Bernard Salvatori is a prominent figure of the FIPSA (International Skindiving Spearfishing Association) and coach for the French Spearfishing Federation FNPSA.
BERNARD SALVATORI,
FRANCE NATIONAL CHAMPION 1987,
RUNNER-UP EUROPEAN CHAMPION, 1988, ITALY
RUNNER-UP WORLD CHAMPION
1989 AND 1992, ITALY
2003 Hugues Dessault and Sporasub contract ends. H.Dessault now focus on manufacturing its own line of technically advanced products crafted for spearfishing and free diving.
Unlike other brands, H.Dessault elected to concentrate on quality craftsmanship instead of assembly line production. Most of its products are manufactured in its own facility in Montpellier.
2009 H.Dessault appoint its US distributor, namely: Dessault America
The Dessault familly sale its share to a partnership of three close collaborators; H.Dessault change hands but continue on the same heading.