Soul & Surf and Finisterre have been crossing paths for years now - from Joe (our head of partnerships) collaborating with the brand in its earlier years on video content, to sharing mutual friends both in Cornwall and in the tropics.
Words by Cat Sarsfield | Video by Finisterre | 23rd March ‘18
It’s one of the main reasons we wanted to work with them - they share our sense of grassroots community and our desire to spread this in our respective local areas; Finisterre growing from a small surf town in Cornwall, Soul & Surf from a beach town in Southern India.
This ocean demands we do our utmost
We have always wanted to make sure we promoted and worked with brands who share our vision of purpose, sustainability and community. Well, you couldn’t get closer to that than the good folk over at Finisterre.
Finisterre started with humble beginnings; founder Tom Kay shunned city life in London as a chartered surveyor and made the pilgrimage down south to Cornwall, hell bent on staying connected with those heavy Atlantic rollers. He saw a gap in the market for products that catered for the true cold water surfer; where were the 5mm wetsuits needed for cold car park changes or cold-weather gear to step into straight after a surf?
So he set about to make a change. And it all began with a fleece. And it was this fleece which set the wheels in motion for a brand which now - over a decade later - has a global presence and is one the leading surf brands in sustainability and design innovation in the UK.
Photos supplied from Finisterre
Although we’re not able to cruise around the coast of Sri Lanka or India in any form of insulation (unless we had a overheating related death wish), it’s Finisterre’s recycled insulation which caught our attention from a sustainable point of view. Instead of working with down, they use synthetic and totally recycled AND recyclable insulation for their jackets. Something we wear more of are board shorts - and Finisterre’s True North range includes recycled board shorts too.
For anyone who has visited our Kerala hotel on the cliff whilst Sam has been with us, you’ll know that he is the epitome of mindfulness, family and authenticity. So it’s not a surprise that Finisterre and Soul & Surf share him as an ambassador. Sam’s been working with Finisterre for a few years now, constantly representing them across the globe as he travels the world either commentating world longboard championships, filming his surf-travel documentaries or coming over the India to host month-long longboard workshops for us in Varkala. Over the last couple of years, Sam has been bringing a few Finisterre pieces to give to our local team, educating them about sustainable design and the world of surfing outside of tropical waters.
Edges Of Sanity. from Finisterre on Vimeo.
So between us, we have a shared belief and ethos of sustainable living, purpose-led design over trend-led aesthetic and a total, incomparable shared love of the sea. And we are beyond stoked to have Finisterre in our shop.
