Hi! I’m Nikolajs (Nick) Apalis, making water safety as accessible and easy as wearing a hat.

I came to Australia in 2014 from Latvia, with no swimming skills. Through Nippers, I learnt to swim and respect the ocean. Throughout my life, working as a Surf Life Saver (local Young Lifesaver of the Year, 2023), pool lifeguard, swim teacher, and water safety research lead, I’ve learnt to understand what stands in the way between us and 0 drowning deaths.

It finally came to me after barely rescuing a child, with no equipment, at a rural beach.

The issue isn’t just a lack of ‘awareness’ - the issue is that by the time you’re desperate for help with no lifeguards around, it’s probably too late. So is the solution lifejackets at the beach? Of course not.

The ethos is much simpler: we will make water safety devices tiny, discrete and fashionable so you want to wear it as an accessory first.

With my award-winning background in physics, chemistry, and research, I decided it’s time we reinvent the wheel and ditch the scary cartridges.

So I started the R&D alongside ALIS around July 2026. Since then, we’ve grown faster than I could have ever imagined. Who knows what will happen in a month or two?.. Watch this space, or reach out and let’s chat!