Back in 1982, Jan van Leest was working on the production platform NAM K15-FA-1 as a dive supervisor and was in charge of a team of seven divers. Their task was to remove marine growth from underwater structures of the platform and this required rotational brushes and specialist tools to carry out the job. To find the special brushes he contacted several suppliers including ‘Pommec’ in Hoogerheide. Pommec could not supply the brushes and tools, but Jan van Leest and his former dive buddy, ‘Piet Pomme’ of Pommec, did discuss the possibilities of manufacturing diving helmets. Unfortunately, Jan van Leest suffered a heart attack in 1983 while working at sea and was forced to quit his diving activities. With time on his hands, he turned his attention over the next two years to designing and building his first ‘free flow’ diving helmet. Pommec ordered five of his helmet shells which they then finished to their own specifications and then sold them to ‘Smit Tak Internationale’ of Rotterdam (see chapter: ‘1984 Pommec helmet’). Jan van Leest went on to build helmets for diving companies including ‘Vriens’ of Bergen, ‘Noordhoek’ of Zierikzee and op Zoom. All helmets shells built and supplied by Jan van Leest have his initials casted into the back of the helmet (see illustration below).