Wow... Mark has been featured in this Forbes magazine article by Alison Coleman,  "Three Entrepreneurs Making Waves In A Booming Water Sports Industry"

Dry Robe, changing robes, drying robes... whatever you call them, they have seen a lot of growth in the last couple of years, alongside SUPs and wellbeing. Here is an excerpt...

Staying warm - and ethical

As founder of leadership development business Engage Technique Mark Whybrow was well aware of the difficulties of building true saleable equity in a service business, and for the last 12 months had been looking for a startup idea in consumer products. His Eureka moment came while sitting on a beach in Perranporth, Cornwall, which led to the launch of watersports and activewear brand ddipp®.

"I was watching a family, all wearing a leading beach changing robe (Dry Robe), when it struck me there were no other innovative options around,” he says. “The market was dominated by one leading brand that had done a great job of defining a market. Most other products were ‘me too’, with very low innovation.”

Whybrow had also spotted growth in SUP and open water swimming, both of which required a similar solution to the challenge of staying warm and getting changed before and after.

“Crucially, both user groups have a high priority of environmental concerns, alongside a need for good performance quality,” he says. “They also like to have the right brand and kit, and no brand at that time was focused clearly in this position.”

The big practical consideration was how to make this happen. His brother-in-law Matt was based in Hong Kong where he managed product sourcing for a major high street clothing retailer. He had the supply chain relationships, capability, and credibility.

Sustainability is a key feature of the brand and the products are manufactured in one of China’s premier ethical production facilities for outdoor clothing, using recycled or sustainable materials wherever possible.

©Forbes

As well as Dry Robe, there are plenty of oversized changing robes around now, since Mark sat on that beach in Cornwall... but we believe none have the sustainability, performance or practicality of ddipp®. Well done DryRobe, you did a great job of creating a new market, and we think we have something to add to it!