Premier sports performance change robe, dryrobe, is ready to bring their revolutionary product to the United States, officially launching to U.S. customers via their website today, August 21st 2019. Founded in 2010 by veteran surfer and watersport enthusiast, Gideon Bright, dryrobe offers a hands-free solution to the “hold the towel up” changing mentality. After years of attempting to change on the beach soaking wet and often cold, Bright’s mother created the first dryrobe prototype when he was a teenager. The oversized cape was windproof and waterproof with an interior towel lining. Decades later, Bright revisited the idea after a particularly freezing and frustrating winter surf. Convinced there had to be a better way to change out of a wetsuit with no bathroom in sight, Bright set up shop in his UK garden shed, determined to create a solution. With some trial and error, the first dryrobe sold online in 2010: a front-zipped, waterproof, windproof jacket with a warm towel interior, and extra breadth to slip your arms inside and change while remaining protected from the elements.
Since its UK launch, dryrobe has disrupted the sports performance apparel industry, becoming the outerwear companion of top UK athletes and sports stars; even appearing on the backs of Team GB at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Speaking on the product and its transformation, founder Gideon Bright commented: “For us it has always been about pushing boundaries to develop the best possible product.” The brand has since expanded to three styles: long-sleeve, short-sleeve, and towel available in women’s, men’s, and children’s sizing.
About Gideon Bright:
dryrobe founder Gideon Bright grew up on the South West coast of Great Britain with a passion for surfing and the outdoors. A chance meeting on a set in Cornwall saw Gideon move to London to pursue a career in the film industry as a Location Manager for 20 years, before returning to the South West to work as a graphic designer and raise a family. After becoming tired of making other people’s products look good, he decided to apply his design skills and create his own unique product. Searching for an idea to make his own, Gideon remembered a waterproof change robe his mom had sewn together for him one Christmas, nearly 30 years ago. This was a much loved, homemade garment that helped him stay warm and dry while getting changed after a surf. Gideon decided to develop his own, significantly more advanced version. Initially setting himself up in his garden shed, Gideon developed a front zip change robe that combined a warm, advanced towel lining with a waterproof and windproof protective outer layer.
dryrobe proved a huge hit with surfers, who found it to be indispensable for dealing with cold winters and wet summers on the British coast. It didn’t take Gideon long to realize that the gap in the market for this product was far bigger than just the surf industry, and he diversified across a range of sports including triathlon, open-water swimming, and obstacle course racing. dryrobe started to become an increasingly essential piece of outdoor sports kit, appearing on the backs of elite athletes and being used to great effect by the British swim teams at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Gideon still lives in the South West of Britain, running dryrobe just a stone’s throw from the beaches that inspired its development.
