The Team Building the
Amphibious Mobility Systems Category
Paul Robinson
Co-Founder and Inventor | Undersea Operations and Product Development
Paul brings a 25-year U.S. Navy SEAL career, including undersea and SEAL Delivery Vehicle operations, operations and training leadership, an N8 research, development, and acquisition role, service as a BUD/S instructor, and certification as a Master Training Specialist. His firsthand mission experience and inventor’s perspective shaped the compact underfoot mobility concept that evolved into SALT AMS.
Jay Atherton
Co-Founder | Strategy, Commercialization, and Partnerships
Jay leads SALT AMS category strategy, commercialization, partnerships, and the operating discipline required to move a mission-driven product from field insight to scalable adoption. His background includes global technology sales, business-unit leadership, product development, strategic alliances, federal business development, and an MBA earned magna cum laude. At Phibian Gear, he aligns operator feedback, market development, and organizational execution to build a durable amphibious-mobility category.
Eric “Olly” Oehlerich
Undersea Technology and Operational Integration
Olly is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL officer whose experience includes command of a Naval Special Warfare Development Group squadron and service as Alpha Platoon commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One. He contributes undersea operations expertise, technology and tactics development, disciplined testing, and direct operator feedback to the SALT AMS development and evaluation process.
Robert “Ski” Wantowski
SOF Combat Diving and Undersea Systems Integration
Ski is a retired U.S. Navy Diving Chief Warrant Officer Five with more than 33 years of service across salvage and mixed-gas diving and Naval Special Warfare assignments at SEAL Team FOUR, SEAL Delivery Team ONE, NSWDG, and WARCOM. His career included numerous combat and sensitive-activity deployments. As WARCOM Program Manager for SOF Combat Diving, he helped formalize a $20 million USSOCOM Program of Record. His experience also includes the development and certification of Jet Boots propulsion, Shark Marine navigation, FirstSpear FROG, and multiple closed-circuit dive systems.
Chauncy Buchheit
Program Continuity and Business Support
Chauncy supports program continuity, business operations, and the disciplined cycle connecting development, testing, user feedback, and product change. His work helps keep the team aligned as SALT AMS moves from field insight through evaluation and commercialization.
Michael “Mick” Mulroy
Mission Integration and Special Operations Perspective
Mick brings experience from the U.S. Marine Corps and CIA paramilitary service, including the Special Activities Division. He contributes mission context, specialized-operations perspective, field-testing insight, and user-centered feedback to the development, positioning, and adoption of SALT AMS.
Joseph “Joe” Allen
EOD and Underwater Mission Requirements
Joe is a U.S. Navy EOD Diver who contributes underwater mission requirements, equipment-integration knowledge, operational testing, and direct feedback from specialized maritime environments. His perspective helps keep SALT AMS grounded in the realities of demanding underwater work.
Christopher L. May
Reconnaissance and Combat-Diving Requirements
Chris is a retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant with experience across infantry, reconnaissance, Force Reconnaissance, operational leadership, training, and combat-diving requirements. He contributes mission analysis and a practical focus on reducing exposure during surf-zone and over-the-beach transitions.
Mike Guidoboni | Spectrum
Engineering, Manufacturing, and Product Lineage
Mike contributes product-lineage knowledge spanning the predecessor fin through SALT AMS, along with engineering, manufacturing, field-evaluation, and mission-user feedback. His perspective helps connect proven lessons from earlier development with the current system and its production path.
Addie Oehlerich
Content, Communications, and Program Support
Addie supports content development, communications, proposal development, and program organization. She helps translate complex operational and technical work into clear materials that support evaluations, partnerships, and responsible market education.
Jonathan Smith
Director of Sales
Jonathan leads customer development, demonstrations and evaluations, opportunity follow-up, and the translation of user requirements into practical next steps. He helps connect qualified military, public-safety, research, and commercial users with the right SALT AMS evaluation and procurement path.
In Their Words
“During my 25-year career in the SEAL teams I was issued countless sets of fins and none of them come close to doing what these fins will allow you to do. Emerge and walk. They are simply amazing!”
— Paul Robinson | Phibian Gear press release, November 2020
“The Phibian Fin is a solution to a critical gap for the combatant diving community… its design allows greater mobility and reduces risk in the surf zone and movement across the beach.”
— Chris May | Email attachment, July 4, 2023
The Product Lineage
“This concept was birthed in 2007 when Paul and I were doing a number of Over-The-Beach mission rehearsals. I’ve seen need for the product, kept track of the efforts to develop it, and have tested the product.”
— Eric “Olly” Oehlerich | Email, September 7, 2022
“Super excited to be on the team. I think there is a lot we can do.”
— Michael “Mick” Mulroy | Email, January 19, 2023
Service, Legacy, Responsibility
The badges belonged to Jay Atherton’s grandfather, Frank L. Atherton, who died in May 1968 during a swift-water rescue on Michigan’s Thornapple River. Jay was born the following year and never had the opportunity to meet him. Alongside coins representing development-team service and product-evaluation relationships, they are a quiet reminder of the responsibility behind equipment intended for people operating in dangerous transitions: listen carefully, make claims responsibly, and keep working toward safer outcomes.