Why Off the Wax?
The first thing you notice is not the water. It is the smell of the wax.
I am a San Franciscan local surfer. I also work at Alex Martins Surf Shop in Ocean Beach repairing surfboards for the local surfing community. Fresh wax on a board has a smell you do not forget. The name came from that, the combination of two senses put together, sight and smell.
I created Off the Wax taking as inspiration one of the best surf spots on earth, Off-the-Wall in North Shore, Hawaii. Some people call it Kodak Reef. Right-hand break, consistent barrels, one of the good ones.
But the brand is from here. Ocean Beach is grey and cold and the fog does not burn off until two in the afternoon. It punishes you before it rewards you. That is the surfing I actually do.
I decided to create a Sustainable Surf Style brand for people following my work that would represent a piece of my daily life, SURF, WAX, FREE LIKE A BIRD, SUSTAINABLE & OCEAN.
Why we make so few things
We used to make tees, tanks, caps, tote bags, all of it.
Now we make one thing, in four bodies. In a cold water surf town the heavy layer is the piece that matters. It is what you pull on when you come out of the water shaking and you are still fifteen minutes from a hot shower. It is what you drive home in, what you wear to the shop the next morning, and what you are still wearing three winters later.
Three hoodies and a crewneck, all at the same weight. The crewneck is there for the days the hood is in the way. Same body, same organic blank, no hood.
We got better by doing less.
Why organic is not a marketing line here
If the whole brand is built on the ocean, you do not get to be careless about what goes into it. Conventional cotton is one of the thirstiest and most chemically intensive crops there is, and the dye runoff has to go somewhere.
So everything we make is built on a certified organic blank. Not eco-inspired. Not conscious. Certified, with standards you can go and look up yourself. Here is exactly what that means, and where it stops.
Come say hi in the water.
Federico
@surfingfede