In early 2020, age 26, I was living in London, caught up in a fast paced lifestyle and I was disconnected from myself. I didn’t know what I wanted to do as a career, other than relentlessly dreaming of one day running my own business. I knew that the only option to make this dream become a reality was to change the way I was living and this started with where I lived. Within a few weeks I left London and moved to St Ives in Cornwall, a town I'd never been to before.

Growing up I loved adventure. I always wanted to be outdoors and being by the sea especially, was somewhere I felt most at home. As a family we were fortunate to travel, which gave me a deep sense of wonder. Seeing new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures made me crave adventure and possibility. That feeling of wonder has stayed with me and influenced the way I’ve now chosen to live and work. 

Leaving the city and moving to the south coast was like the missing piece in my puzzle. Despite moving straight into the Covid lockdown, this alone time gave me months of reflection and I quickly found a slower pace of life and a deeper connection with the world around me. I became more grateful for the small things and that’s when everything slotted into place. 

After spending nearly all of lockdown alone, I decided to move to the South Hams, to an area I regularly visited with family as a child. I started a new sport, paddle boarding, which was calm, slow and gave me a chance to be present. I couldn’t help to notice however, how plain and uninspired most paddle boards were - almost all of them were white and with no personality. It felt like the industry was just pumping out boards with no thought. So that’s when I realised there was an opportunity to bring a fresh and modern perspective to the paddle board industry, as well as the outdoor industry as a whole. That’s how Sunsup was born. 

This journey has been more than just about creating a brand and running my own business; I realised how much that lifestyle balance had changed my life so I wanted to share this with others. Sunsup is about encouraging people to do what they love. We live in such a fast paced world today that we could all do with slowing down and we don’t all have to follow the paths we think we “should” follow. 

Sunsup so far has been an incredible journey. From sleepless nights, to travelling to some of the most incredible places in the world to work. No two days are the same. Sunsup has also faced its fair share of challenges but it's through these times that we create better possibilities. One of the best parts so far, has got to be building our lovely, currently all female team.

It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in just a few years. It’s not always easy, but it’s a good journey and when I think about the people we’ve inspired and the community we’ve built, I know this is just the beginning. We have big dreams to continue improving how we care for the planet, like building a UK-based production facility and achieving B Corp certification. More than anything though, I want Sunsup to be a source of inspiration. I want people to see that life can be simpler, slower, and so much more meaningful when you take the time to connect—with nature, with others, and with yourself.