Professional athletes wearing FastSkin swimsuit broke many world records. As a matter of fact, pundits speculated that we had never seen the NASA-researched swimsuits in action at the Olympic Games level. Well, we have. What’s more, even Nike, a fierce competitor of Australian manufacturer Speedo, is allowed its sponsored swimmers to wear them at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
Once Australian swimsuit manufacturer debuted its revolutionary LZR Racer Elite (the brand's most hydro-dynamically advanced swimsuit to date) suit back in 2008, it created a huge wave of controversy. This swimsuit reduces drag while swimming and compresses the muscles in order to reduce fatigue.
But what about Fastskin and Playboy; not actually a perfect match made in heaven - this is definitely not the likely duo, nonetheless, it slightly increased sales of both the swimsuit and the magazine giant because of the collaboration. Also, the truth is that professional athletes are well known for the toned, beautifully sculptured bodies that always are highlighted by their sleek swimsuits.
No stranger to the stunning beauty of professional athletes, Playboy magazine previously featured 100-meter backstroke swimmer Haley Clark in September 2004's "Women of the Olympics" cover story and 7-time breaststroke medalist Amanda Beard who posed nude in July 2007, also nude. Additionally included in this Playboy issue were 7 other professional athletes including United States high-jumper Amy Acuff and a pole-vaulter Mary Sauer.
So, on August 7, 2008, Playboy.com launched a new pictorial featuring Playboy models wearing these innovative suits, in celebration of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The new feature reveals a 12 picture slide-show of Australian producer's official Olympic suits over the past 6 Olympic Games - dating back to late 1980s - shot poolside at a fitness club in Chicago. Speedo United State’s vice-president Craig Brommers spoke to WWD (the authority for breaking news, comprehensive business coverage as well as trends in the worlds of beauty, retail, and fashion) concerning the LZR Racer Elite, the Speedo’s top-performance competitive suit. “Interest in the LZR Racer has transcended traditional sports media and is receiving coverage in every media category out there, including fashion, business, science, celebrity and lifestyle”.
The Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer, (basically developed by using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration research) caused a huge media stir, since many claimed the swimsuit gives super-human advantage to athletes wearing the swimsuit. Manufacturer, needless to say, never objected to the media stir, however faced investigations from the international governing body of swimming (FINA) into the buoyancy level of the suit. Because the swimsuit first introduced back in February 2008, forty eight out of fifty world records set thus far have been by athletes wearing the LZR Racer Elite. The Playboy models show no nude, despite the fact that the swimsuit usually takes around ten to thirty minutes to squeeze into.
In the pictorial, the suits are worn by twenty four year old Sharae Spears 24 from Knoxville, Tennessee and an eighteen year old Cassie Keller from Greenville. Sharae is the August 2008 Cyber Girl of the Month and Cassie is a Playboy "Special Editions" supermodel who featured on the "College Girls" cover released on December 2nd 2008. The buoyant beauties wear the suits: Speedo LZR Racer (2008), Fastskin FSII (2004), Fastskin Speedo (2000), Speedo Aquablade (1996), Speedo S2000 (1992), and the Speedo Star Axcel (1988).
Although both playmates wore the 1-pieces, Sharae (who sports the latest Speedo) took around thirty minutes to squeeze into hers, as also is the case for professional athletes.
