60 YEARS AGO

When you leave a place you've visited, all that should be left behind are the bent blades of grass a deer leaves on the ground when it lays down to rest.

50 years ago there was no surf industry, there were guys surfing waves and making their own products in sheds and back yards, look at it now, it is bigger than anyone ever imagined - jobs have been created, companies formed.

Don't ask anymore questions about whether there is a market and whether people will surf these cold water surf spots - there is and they are and ask more important questions like, what products should we make, what companies shall we form for the cold water surf category?

Note to reader: this will require new thinking, bigger thinking. The old school practices of growing surf businesses, manufacturing and fabric sourcing will not work here. Cold water surf requires those who take part in it, to have products that will protect them, that will stand up to the many cold and harsh environments they go out in and as companies we need to make sure we're up to the task.

We're also in a position to approach these cold water surf environments differently, to tread lightly and leave nothing behind.

We've just returned from Norway, we went to shoot our Autumn/Winter range and make a film. We took a team of 8, we lived in the environment, we caught fish, we caught waves, our wood burner provided warmth and our products provided protection. When camp was packed away, we looked behind us only to see a slight discolouration on the patch of land we lived on and the bent blades of grass we left behind.

This is the team from Norway, we will be releasing the trips contents in due time.