BRIAN CIZEK -- Working

-- Story by Angelique Flores

HE IS

Putting water within reach

WATERING DOWN THE PROBLEM

Cizek, a Huntington Beach resident, has recently completed the creation

of the Aquahook -- a plastic hook that holds a water bottle and can be

hung from exercise equipment or the waist while working out.

“Working out at the local health club and using the StairMaster or

Lifecycle, people had their water bottles on the floor or were balancing

them against the monitor on the handle bars,” said Cizek, who frequently

works out at a gym.

It was about 10 years ago that Cizek became so frustrated with having to

stop his workout to grab his bottle of water, he set out to do something

about it.

“I designed the Aquahook, and my bottle now hangs within comfortable

reach on virtually any workout equipment,” he said.

DAY JOB

When he’s not working on an invention, Cizek works as a surgical

technologist at the Outpatient Surgery Center in Huntington Beach,

preparing surgical instruments and dressings.

Cizek studied at Golden West College before attending Long Beach

Paramedical College to get his certification.

“My dad was a medic in World War II, and I grew up with stories of how he

took care of people,” Cizek said. “He always seemed like a hero to me,

and I wanted to also take part in making someone feel better.”

INVENTOR

“There’s always a way of doing things better,” Cizek said.

Believing this and having the knack to look at things from a different

perspective have helped Cizek with his inventions. The Aquahook is not

Cisek’s first innovation, though it is so far his most successful. He

said chain stores like Target and Long’s have expressed an interest in

carrying his product.

Not content with the traditional way of doing things, Cizek is always

looking to improve even the most minute setbacks.

“At work, the nurses have to wait a long time for the prep solutions to

come out of the bottle, like waiting for catsup to come out of a catsup

bottle,” he said.

So Cisek took a piece of cardboard and cut holes in it so the bottles can

stand upside down with the solution ready to come out when the nurses

need to use it.

“It was just a solution to a problem,” he said.

Cizek and two of his friends are trying to develop a contraption to

replace the esmark, an apparatus they use at work to extract blood from

an extremity.

“Sometimes a light goes off, and you realize there’s another way to do

this,” he said.

RENAISSANCE MAN

When he’s not trying to design new inventions, the 36-year-old enjoys

camping, fishing, playing basketball and going to the beach.

Before going to work at the surgery center, Cizek worked in the carpet

repair business with his brother. Now that he’s trying to get the public

hooked onto the Aquahook, Cizek is learning about marketing and

advertising his product -- knowledge he has gained through trial and

error and reading books.

“Patience is important,” he said. “Never give up on something you believe

in.”