Kelly Slater Merges Brands in Big Business Move

Outside of his professional surfing career, which may be approaching its sunset era with a suspected, as-of-yet-official retirement, Kelly Slater is a business man. The 11x world champ has his hands in multiple operations – from surfboards, to clothing, to footwear, to organic energy drinks, to international artificial wave-making machines.

Now, three of those brands are merging. And no, sadly, it’s not a resurgence of Purps.

In a press release on Wednesday, May 1st, it was announced that Outerknown, Slater Designs, and Firewire Surfboards will unite under one umbrella company.

“I’m passionate about the companies I’m involved with because I believe in their missions, products, and people,” said Kelly, who cofounded Outerknown, and holds a majority stake in Firewire and Slater Designs. “To have all these major brands under one collective roof allows us to bring our pioneering innovation in sustainable apparel to the wider surf community, showing what’s possible by doing business in the most responsible way.”

At the helm of the new amalgamation of the three brands will be current CEO of Firewire and Slater Designs, Dylan Slater. (No relation to Kelly.)

“I believe there’s an extraordinary opportunity to build something uniquely powerful with these three purpose-driven brands all on the same platform,” said Dylan. “From harnessing each brand’s differentiated strengths and leveraging their shared vision to build the best products possible with minimum impact on the planet, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Kelly and our brands’ talented teams to unlock our combined potential.”

So, does this change anything from a consumer standpoint? Or will the brands continue operating as usual, pumping out the same products?

Well, for one thing, it looks like the price point on Outerknown clothing might come down a bit. Kelly continued:

“When we originally launched Outerknown, we invested in pioneering sustainable sourcing and manufacturing practices. Being first comes at a premium, so our price points for surf-related products were higher than the market was accustomed to. We’ve always said that with hard work and learnings over time, we would be able to pass down more accessible pricing to the surf community.

“I am very proud that we can now deliver a new tier of products specifically designed and made for what surfers need – products that are made responsibly, built to last, and help create memorable times. Developing special products positioned to support independent surf shops is something I am not only passionate about but believe is necessary. I can’t wait to share our new vision with surfers everywhere.”

As for that competitive surfing denouement? Still TBD. But it looks like Kelly’s got a good retirement plan in place for when he finally, for good, decides to call it quits. 

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