WETTIE ENTREPRENEURS JUST GETTING WARMED UP
VIN Ryan made wetsuits for global surfwear giant Billabong for 24 years. Today, he is in direct opposition to it.
Mr Ryan, founder of Independent Surf Co, began his career stacking neoprene panelling for Billabong suits.
After being made redundant he started an online business using the skills he amassed over a quarter of a century.
“The website went live in December with our summer line and then our winter line went up six weeks ago,” New Zealand-born Mr Ryan said of his part-time business.
After calling in friend Royce Leu, a former graphic designer with Billabong, Mr Ryan said he took advantage of the Chinese material and manufacturing connections he made over two decades with Billabong to make his cut-price suits.
“We used to make wetsuits (in Burleigh) but that all changed when the company went public and it all moved to China,” Mr Ryan said.
“Then I started working with Chinese factories with the specifications and materials and negotiating prices. It was an awesome job.”
These connections with the factories allowed him to make smaller orders than the larger companies using the same material.
Mr Ryan’s most expensive item is a full-length suit with 4mm thick material on the chest and 3mm thick material everywhere else to keep surfers warm in the winter months. It retails for $299, much cheaper than many other manufacturers.
He said working on construction sites prompted him to drop his prices.
“I’ve been working on construction sites for the past year and you can see how hard these tradies work,” he said.
“If you can save a guy 400 bucks on a wettie he’s going to be stoked.”
Mr Ryan said his company enlisted Tasmanian big-wave charger Mike Brennan to test their suits in trying southern conditions. After selling 50 suits in six weeks he conceded it would take time for the brand to become serious competition for larger companies.
“Right now we have sold 50 suits, so there are 50 wetsuits out there – that’s 50 stories that people are telling their mates.”