Our Mission
To help the world record underwater footage.
Without compromise.
We believe everyone on the water deserves to see the world from a breathtaking new perspective. Immel House Innovations exists to eliminate the performance penalty of conventional underwater camera housings and mounts.
The Inventor
Built from the water up.
John Immel
Founder & Inventor —
US Patent #11871096 B2
Based in St. Cloud, Florida, John developed the fin-shaped underwater camera housing to solve a problem every waterman knows firsthand: there's never been a clean way to film beneath the board without ruining the ride. This US Patent # 11871096 B2 is the result of years of iteration on hydrodynamic form.
History
The Dolphin's Eye View
The inspiration for this patent came from conversations with my wife, Melissa. I was telling her about riding overhead-sized waves alongside dolphins. I wondered what surfers looked like to them and how could I film from that POV beneath the surface. Melissa challenged me to get "proof of concept" footage.
In my creative mental space, I focused my passionate wondering of what that world looked like beneath the surface of the wave, that is when I saw that the tip of a 9 to 12 inch longboard fin was the only place that a camera could sit If it were to capture that exact perspective, without slowing the board down and hindering it's performance.
I gave up searching after two years, for a camera system that could record like that. I contacted my patent attorney about searching for this idea. After his extensive search he discovered that, to our surprise no one had a patented it yet.
The Fin camera system was launched.
First Fin
2013Camera: Snapcam
Built using a small, non-waterproof Snapcam. It proved the concept worked (until the camera inevitably stopped working!).
Second Fin
2014–2015Camera: GoPro
This time I built a mount that could hold a GoPro inside its full waterproof case. The final product was very large but made the board incredibly stable. The footage was good in clear water.
Patent Applied For and Secured
2016 to 2023Third Fin
2022Camera: Insta360
Leveraged the smaller, modern waterproof camera tech from Insta360. This version pointed the camera straight down from the surface to record what was right below the board.
Fourth Fin
2025Camera: Insta360
This fin was built with a new camera position and new mount shape to shoot slightly forward instead of just straight down.
Fifth, sixth & seventh Fins
2026Camera: Insta360
These fins have the camera pointing in different angles and have different types of camera mount shapes for hydrodynamic and cinematic testing.