A skydiver with an unusual past shares how his business delivers custom apparel for action athletes and Hollywood by adopting new digital design and manufacturing technologies.

Julio Ruiz had a career in Puerto Rico shoeing horses and inseminating cows before he decided to become a manufacturer. It was Julio’s passion in skydiving and mad skills in graphic design that gave him the idea to start his action sports apparel company, LiquidSky.

LiquidSky specializes in custom apparel, and I was curious how he minimizes the lead times behind making custom gear when he’s such a small business with uneven demand. I also wanted to learn what kind of technologies Julio uses to make customization easier, like computer aided pattern-making and digital manufacturing, and how a small business like his makes the decision how to adopt these technologies.

We also hear some fun stories about working with some big-name celebrities and some of my skydiving heroes. LiquidSky is definitely not a typical apparel company.

For more information, photos, and links, check out the show notes at http://makeitinla.org/julioruiz.