The International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame gave its 2026 Early Pioneer Award to Ludovico Mares, founder of Mares, on September 4, 2026. Mares died in 1989; Mares representatives Rachael and Michael Steidley accepted the award on his behalf.
Mares was born in Pula, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and served as a naval diver during World War I. Afterward, he built one of his first diving masks himself, out of rubber tubing and glass lenses, which improved underwater visibility enough that local fishermen picked up the design.
In 1949, at age 50, he founded Mares Sub in Rapallo, Italy. The fins, spearguns, and breathing equipment the company built went on to influence the design of a lot of the recreational gear divers use today.
Read more on the ISDHF website.
DIVEIN testing a modern Mares regulator. This archival image illustrates the equipment brand, not the Hall of Fame ceremony. Photo: DIVEIN.
Take a moment to look at this.
