63 Years In Surf’s Gotta Count For Something

What could be more on trend’s pulse than a bearded man with lavish golden locks, an antique van, a log and his gorg girl in tow. It’s the look of the era; hip, double-tap-friendly, “hipster!” Only thing is, Californian based surf label Katin, have been in this game since 1954, that’s several decades longer than most of us have existed. Kinda transcends the whole trend thing, right?

Story time, gather round.

Brainchild of Surfside California locals, Nancy and Walter Katin, Kanvis By Katin (as it was originally named) started out peddling canvas boat covers and ‘boat shorts’, revered for their sturdy construction and limitless durability. Then one day a sunbleached teen turned up at their humble establishment looking for shorts designed for surf – turns out wearing zero-way-stretch denim cutoffs wasn’t working out for him. So good ol’ Walt and Nancy knocked up a custom set for the boy, tailored for his waveriding needs. Word got out, the Katin’s found a hole in the emerging surf market and the rest is history. By the way, the kid’s name was Corky Carroll, who went on to become one of the world’s first professional surfers and the custom shorts designed in his name became one of California’s first surf trunks.

Surviving the turbulent eras of fashion is an amicable achievement. Looking at the current state of the surfwear industry with all its competition, downsizing, budget strangling and overseas production, it’s great to see a wholesome US based (and made) brand hold its own for so long.

So what do they have here for you today? How can you support their continuing longevity? Well they’ve just released an exclusive range available through SurfStitch called The K-Man Collection. Basically it’s a range of tees, hoodies, hats and their world famous surf trunks, all saluting the heritage of the brand through colours, patterns and logo design. Hit play on the above reel for some 50’s flavour and peruse the imagery we ripped right out of the campaign shoot to get a taste of the wearables. 

Shop more over here.