A package arrived at my door in the normal way. I saw just the shadow of the mailman descending the driveway as I opened the door to retrieve it. I sat alone at the kitchen table in the afternoon sun to open the box. Inside were tshirts and related swag from Steezy Surfer. Now, I’m a fan of getting packages in the mail, so I’m fairly experienced with the process; Never in all my years of ordering have I received such well-scented goods. The shirts smelled the way one imagines a preppy head shop on the beach might smell, also vaguely reminiscent of the way I remember the liner notes of my Madonna Like a Prayer smelling when I was in Junior High (oh how I miss the days of scented liner notes).
I buried my face in these soft, scented shirts and thought, “I must possess this smell.” So I immediately emailed Josh Krokenberger, the owner over at Steezy Surfer and implored him to release to me the secret origins of this magical scent. He wouldn’t budge, but he assured me that every shirt gets a quick spray prior to shipping so another whiff was always just an order away.
Krokenberger is all about details. From limited runs to thank you notes and freebies, Steezy Surfer is all about community. And in the era of big corporate brands with big corporate price tags, Steezy’s local surf shop feel is a definite draw. Add to this comfy, well-designed, American-made shirts that fit right, and you have all the trappings of a successful surf brand.
Krokenberger got tired of dropping dough on big name surf brands. He had a dream of starting his own, so he did. I’m all about chasing the dream. It’s hard work to build a brand and Steezy Surfer is just now laying their foundation. The company has plans to do some major collaborations with surf-inspired artists and hopes to be wholesaling to our local shops soon. One day you might even find yourself walking into a shiny, well-scented Steezy Surfer retail store.
Growing a company that’s branding is inextricably tied to personal attention is a complicated business (trust me, KCD LLC has been struggling with this for years) but I trust that young Krokenberger (he’s only 20) has what it takes to navigate this difficult territory. In the meantime, let’s support one of our own and buy some Steezy Surfer apparel, shall we?
You can purchase the shirts I’m wearing here and more at steezysurfer.com and look for new designs this November. Worksurfkatrina readers get 20% off with the code: KATRINA. Who knows, you may someday even find a shirt designed by yours truly (if I can get Josh to hand over that secret scent, that is).
Chase the dream, guys, chase the dream.
Also, special shout out to my amazing photographer Scott Braun over at soulovisual.com for the new photoset… more to come. Stay tuned this week to hear all about how Isaac and the other men in my life are treating me.
Based on the title, I thought you’d be wearing an Inebriation shirt with heels- then I remembered those shirts don’t exist anymore. And then I had a beer and decided I should make more just in case there are shirtless women out there in need. Either way, cool pictures. I like the shirt with the pink flower on it.
Kind of sad to see you that you are selling out your blog post for advertisements..sigh
Josh did buy a banner ad (a girl has to make a living), but I don’t sell my posts. I just dig him. If you make something cool or do something cool, let me know and I’ll write about it. If you’re really concerned that I’m “selling out”, send me a message with your real name and I’d love to talk about it. Otherwise feel free to criticize me from afar– I can take it.
I think it’s great that you are supporting someone else’s success Katrina. I’m not a surfer fan, but I am a Katrina fan…even more so after your generous post.
Think success for others and success will surely find you too!
Love Elle
xoxo
You’re blogs about yourself make me realize what a complete and utter loser you are
You should probably find something better to do with your time, instead of spreading your weak, negative word-jizz around the internet.
…I mean, since apparently YOU are such an altruist.
Be nice to her you chz whiz eating Xbox playing inbreds…
Shame on you Scott for gobbling up Pandoras Slave Man’s word jizz. You losers are everything wrong with society these days. Instead of being destructive with your resources why don’t you consider being honorable and respectful of someone being positive and contributing to society respectably. Take an internal inventory of yourself and be motivated by good ethics, morals and a desire to better others rather than your own ignorant selfishness. Brace yourself, it’s not all about you.
Katrina don’t listen to the haters (as if you did)… thank you for highlighting American-made products. This is a male-dominated sport and it is interesting to read a woman’s perspective. Besides, it is so great to have anyone local putting out positive vibes for our sport of choice. And I say, keep advertising other local or domestic brands. It’s a win-win situation. What on earth is so wrong with that?
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask.
Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa?
My website goes over a lot of the same topics as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other.
If you’re interested feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Awesome blog by the way!