SWIMMER magazine, the leading masters swimming publication in the United States with over 50,000 subscribers, selected Outex co-founder and Olympian JR deSouza's image for its premier 2022 issue cover feature released in January.
As an active photographer, JR co-founded Outex, which makes underwater camera housing systems in 2010 in part to marry his passion for the water and his love of photography. As an Olympic swimmer JR grew up swimming, surfing, and enjoying the great outdoors, while often wishing he could use his camera in all of those environments. His photography work has only improved as the company has attracted the attention of renowned photographers from all over the world, specializing in fields like sports, adventure, portraits, underwater, caving, canyoning, and many other outdoor disciplines that benefit from his products.
"While I spent less time taking pictures these days in order to run our business, my knowledge of photography continues to grow, as I collaborate, interact, and learn from the best photographers in the world. Collaborating and exchanging insights about content creation and story telling is one of my favorite parts of the job, and in part responsible for our continued innovation."
SWIMMER magazine was featuring a personal and professional friend, Rudi Bloss, whom JR had know professionally during his career at The Walt Disney Company and Dreamworks Animation. Rudi is an animator and has worked for both of those companies as well as Paramount, Nickelodeon, and Warner Brothers. JR and Rudi were also friends who love to swim into their adult lives to stay active and socialize outside of work.
"It was rewarding to take the pictures for the article on multiple fronts. Rudi is a personal friend, and a professional I admire. I love his work, both professionally, and his entertaining alter-ego character the article also features. Swimming is such a positive part of both our lives. And I was able to feature the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center as the backdrop.
