Water sustains us. It’s part of us; it’s in our blood. But for some of us, it’s so much deeper than that: water does more than sustain us – it defines us. Surfers, kayakers, fishermen, freedivers, paddlers… watermen; we are uncontrollably and inseparably drawn to water…

But somewhere along the way, our sports got lost. When did fishing / surfing / paddling become a competition? Is success really measured in corporate sponsorship dollars, tournament weigh-ins, or some arbitrary points system? When did our relationship with waves, rivers, and fish become so adversarial? When did our sports become man vs. nature instead of man part of nature?

It’s time to change all that – to get back to basics. Paddle Out is a new, roots clothing brand for the holdouts who still haven’t sold our souls. It’s an identity for those of us who understand the magnetism of life in the water, and the clarity it brings. Of course those clean, perfect waves in all the mags still make us a little weak in the knees; but we’re just as happy freesurfing 2-foot East Coast slop. It’s about salt spray on our faces, wrinkled fingers from hours underwater, the subtle take of a fly. Our sports aren’t a contest; they’re the prize.