In 1972, Bill Booth started Relative Workshop in a Miami garage. In the late 1970's Bill made two major contributions to the world of skydiving. First he invented and patented the Hand Deploy Pilot Chute System, which soon changed the sport forever. The second invention, and perhaps Bill's greatest contribution to the sport, was the invention the 3-Ring Release System. In 1983, Bill received the prestigious Parachute Equipment Industry Association Achievement Award. The Federation Aeronautic International awarded him the 1984 Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in parachute safety design, the highest award available in his field.

Relative Workshop's first harness/container system was called the Wonderhog. This rig incorporated all of the best safety improvements of its era. The Wonderhog Sprint quickly followed. In 1980, the Vector was introduced and soon became the most popular rig in the world. The U.S. Skydiving Team wore the first Vectors at the 1981 World Meet. In fact, ever since 1977 there has been a team or individual wining gold medals in at least one category, wearing Relative Workshop systems! The Vector II followed six years later and enjoyed even more popularity.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, new freefall disciplines made their way into the skydiving mainstream-SkySurfing and FreeStyle were soon followed by FreeFlying. These new disciplines brought with them new concerns. In these flight modes, the container is subjected to direct, high-speed airflow from every direction. The need for more security, such as riser, pin, and bridle protection became apparent. Our engineers went to work.