About this episode

Dario Phillips discusses building Slowtide, a category-specific brand in the surf industry, and shares insights on entrepreneurship and sustainable growth.

Dario Phillips, co-founder of Slowtide, built the surf industry's most recognizable beach towel brands by betting on a single product category and surrounding it with authentic art, meaningful collaborations, and a clear brand identity. In this conversation, Dario traces the full founder arc — from marketing director at Quiksilver to rolling the dice on 800 towels in a Venice Beach garage. He talks about the realities of licensing deals, co-founding remotely across two islands, and why a decade of building has taught him to trust his team's instincts over outside hires. He also shares how Slowtide is expanding beyond towels into outerwear and new product categories, while staying grounded in the values that started it all. A few of the topics from the conversation: Leaving Corporate Board Sports to Co-Found Slowtide The Case for Category-Specific Brands Licensing as a Growth Strategy Co-Founding Across Time Zones and Islands Founder Confidence Over Outside Hires Sustainable Growth and Giving Back Links: Slowtide Slowtide's Custom Products Slowtide x New Balance Connect with Christian on LinkedIn The KORE Podcast is a production of the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise. Learn…

People in this episode

Host: KORE Outdoors

Guest: Dario Phillips

Topics covered

• Category-Specific Brands
• Entrepreneurship
• Sustainable Growth
• Licensing Deals
• Co-Founding
• Brand Identity

Keywords

• Slowtide
• Dario Phillips
• beach towels
• entrepreneurship
• licensing
• brand identity
• sustainable growth
• co-founding

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Slowtide, Quiksilver

Places: Venice Beach, British Columbia

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