Saltrock Surfwear is a British surfwear company based in Devon. Created by brothers Ross and Angus Thomson in 1988, the idea was fostered in order to generate money to fund their passion of surfing. The brothers moved the company from Penzance, Cornwall to Devon in 1992, after which surfer Carl Priscott joined the board.
History
Angus and Ross Thomson are two South African natives who decided to travel the world in the eighties and experience the best places to surf. They ended up in Cornwall after taking a train from London to check out the waves in Penzance. After spending most of their days on the beach and their nights in a pub they began to run low on cash and had to figure out a way to make money. In 1988, they decided to create T-shirts since they both needed a creative outlet.
They named the brand Saltrock after the South African town Salt Rock situated 40 minutes outside of Durban. This was their favourite place to surf back in their home-country South Africa and they wanted to carry that with them.
With their own designs inspired by surfing, they self-printed T-shirts. They created their own blackout system made from tape, nails, and a Salvation Army rug. They sold these T-shirts out of the back of their Austin Allegro until the shirts became so popular that they were actually interfering with their surfing. The surfers who lived in Cornwall loved the shirts and the brothers could not keep up with the demand of products. This demand led the brothers to pack up from Penzance and move up the coast to Croyde. They moved to this new coastal town, and on their first night there they met a group of surfers at The Thatch Pub who are still a part of Saltrock. In Croyde, North Devon the brand took off, branching outside of the surf community and growing in popularity. After gaining many new fans, Angus and Ross teamed up with Carl Priscott, four years after their humble beginning in 1988. With Priscott on board the enthusiasm within Saltrock exploded and the brand expanded to nearby Braunton. This expansion led to Saltrock becoming established in the heart of the UK surfing community. From there the brand expanded nationally, gaining popularity throughout the nation before spreading internationally.
On 17 August 2018, Saltrock went into administration with multiple stores subsequently closing. The company the became managed by SRS REALISATIONS 2017 LIMITED. Soon after entering administration yachting company 'Crew Clothing Co Group' agreed to buy Saltrock out of administration. 25 stores across the South West and their online store remain open.
Shop locations
The Saltrock brand is found in 300 stores in the UK, Ireland and Europe. There are also over 50 Saltrock retail stores and a website with an online store. Most of the stores are located in the south and south west of England.
The Saltrock retail stores are located in:
Cornwall
Bude
Falmouth, Cornwall
Fowey
Looe
Newquay
Padstow
Penzance
St Austell (Cornwall Services) St Ives, Cornwall Truro
Cumbria
Kendal
Keswick
Devon
Barnstaple
Bideford (Atlantic Village) Braunton Brixham Croyde Dartmouth Exeter Exmouth Plymouth (closed) Salcombe Sidmouth Teignmouth Torquay Totnes Woolacombe
Dorset
Bournemouth
Dorchester (closed) Lyme Regis Swanage Poole Weymouth
Essex
Saffron Walden
Southend-on-Sea
Gloucestershire
Gloucester
Hampshire
Fareham (closed) Lymington Southampton (closed) Southsea
Kent
Chatham
Whitstable
Lancashire
Fleetwood
Norfolk
Norwich
Northern Ireland
Newcastle, County Down
Somerset
Street, Somerset
Taunton (closed) Minehead Weston-super-Mare (closed)
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Cannock*
Sussex
Worthing
Eastbourne
Wales
Aberystwyth
Bridgend
Cardigan
Conwy
Llandudno
Mumbles
Saundersfoot
Swansea
Tenby
Wiltshire
Swindon (Swindon Designer Outlet) (closed)