Suit Up!

Entrepreneur, August, 2001 by Michelle Prather

SICK AND TIRED OF BRUISED HIP BONES AND UGLY SURF GEAR. THESE TWO SURFER CHICKS BECAME HIP-BONE-SAVING WET-SUIT DESIGNERS AND HEROINES OF WATER-SPORTS-LOVING WOMEN EVERYWHERE.

VITAL STATS: Amber Sakai (far right), 28, and Brighdie Grounds, 27, of Costa Mesa, California-based Four Girls.

COMPANY: Wet-suit and water-sports gear manufacturer started in 2000.

2001 PROJECTIONS: $1 million.

THEN THERE WERE Two: Cofounders Michelle and Navah Paskowitz elected to leave Four Girls in late February, "but it's OK, because the company's for all girls," says Grounds.

STOP THE SUFFERING: "So many girls wear just their bikinis when it's freezing, because their wet suit doesn't fit then right or they don't like the way it looks," says Grounds. "We've seen their battle wounds."

STAND AND DELIVER: "Not to brag about our surfing, but we've surfed pretty well in the last four years," Grounds says. "We can hold our, own in the water, which, as far as respect goes, makes a difference."

BUSINESS (VERY) CASUAL: "We can work in our flip-flops one day," says Sakai, "and the next day, if we feel like dressing up, we dress up."

SERIOUS BUSINESS: "We're not just looking at the waves every day," says Grounds. "We're working at 10 a.m. and talking until 10 p.m."