The History of Vissla

Vissla has been around as a surf brand for over 10 years now, producing wetsuits and clothing, with the strapline 'Creators & Innovators'.

In this article we take a look at the history of Vissla, including who founded it, who's in their team and how sustainable they are.

Who are Vissla

Vissla is a surf company, operating out of California, that states:

Vissla is a brand that represents creative freedom, a forward-thinking philosophy, and a generation of creators and innovators. We embrace the modern do-it-yourself attitude within surf culture, performance surfing, and craftsmanship. We constantly strive to minimize our environmental impact and protect the oceans and waves that raised us. This is a surf-everything and ride-anything mentality.

We are creators and innovators.

Vissla's main focus is on wetsuits and clothing, including board shorts, tees, hoodies and caps.

The brand Sisstrevolution is related to Vissla and also produces wetsuits and surf clothing.

The roots of Vissla

Vissla was founded in 2013 by Paul Naude. Paul grew up in South Africa and was surfboard shaper and surfer in his younger days. He travelled with Shaun Thomson and in 1976 was a Pipe Masters finalist.

He became immersed more within the surf industry after founding a surf magazine in South Africa and then becoming a representative for Gotcha.

He was president of Billabong for a time too, however after the company went public he decided he wanted to get back to the core and roots of surfing so formed a company called Stoke House. Under their umbrella he decided to launch a new brand called Vissla, with two main aims: one, to just focus it on surfing; and two, to bring together people who were creators and innovators in the sport. 

Vissla team

To match their 'Creators & Innovators' tag, Vissla has assembled a team who are not just surfers, but also express themselves in other ways, such as art, filmmaking, surfboard shaping and photography.

There's well-known professional surfers such as Liam O'Brien, Mathew McGillivray and Eric Geiselman, plus the likes of Thomas Campbell, who made surf classics The Seedling, Sprout and The Present.

Other creators and innovators for them include: Ryan Huckerbee, Jimmy Thompson, Cliff Kapno, Grant 'Twiggy' Baker and Cornwall's Marcus Lascelles 

Sustainability and Vissla 

Vissla is a surf brand that seems to be taking sustainability seriously and responsibly.

They have started to use more eco-friendly materials into their products, including recycled tees and eco-fleeces.

When it comes to wetsuits, they are considering how to make them as sustainable as possible. For example, they are using Japanese limestone to replace the petrochemicals, plus replacing conventional glue with a water-based alternative.

Check out our range of Vissla wetsuits and wetsuit accessories in our shop.