Upstarts: New-Biz Watch

Fashion-savvy kayakers ride sport's upsurge

With a line of rakish helmets, they hope to supplant their competitors' clunky models
By Alessandra Bianchi

The death in January of Steve Smith, 26, an elite white-water kayaker from Atlanta, saddened his paddling buddies throughout the country. Perhaps the most rattled were Brian Robinson and Jason Aronson, boyhood friends and founders of Orosi LLC, a start-up in Marietta, Ga., that manufactures helmets and sunglasses for white-water kayakers. Smith had been wearing an Orosi helmet when an Ecuadoran river swept him to his death. Robinson and Aronson felt proud that a kayaker of Smith's standing had chosen the Orosi brand. But Smith's death caused not only personal grief but also soul-searching about the safety of the company's helmets.

Robinson and Aronson had launched Orosi in November 1995 to inject a flair into kayaking accessories and, they hoped, energize the sport the way hip imagery had energized the snowboarding business. Kayaking, Robinson recalls, suffered from a "lame image, with a big void of shapes and fashion." The partners sought to fill the void by emphasizing dash and style. They designed colorful, New Age helmets to challenge the clunky models produced by established, safety-first companies like Pro-tec and Prijon.

The timing of Orosi's launch couldn't have been better. Participation in paddle sports like kayaking, rafting, and canoeing has increased 58% since 1993, to almost 25 million enthusiasts. White-water kayaking leads the boom, according to Neal Wiesner-Hanks, executive director of the Trade Association of Paddle Sports, in Mequon, Wis. Furthermore, white-water rafting and kayaking are the most popular pursuits of "hard adventure" vacationers, claims the Travel Industry Association of America.

In the spring of 1995 Orosi's founders had been fifth-year seniors at the University of Alabama and were skipping school "to go kayaking whenever it rained," recounts Robinson. Intent on turning their passion into a business, they began importing Costa Rican paddles. Then came their lucky break: a North Carolina outfitter was seeking a buyer for its line of white-water helmets. Robinson and Aronson paid $2,500 from their savings for helmet molds and designs. They named the company after a favorite white-water kayaking destination, the Orosi River in Costa Rica.

Today, when they're not globe-trotting to white-water rivers, festivals, and trade shows, the two entrepreneurs, both 26, operate Orosi out of the basement of their house. They have two employees. The helmets are manufactured by a marine repair shop in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the shades are made by contractors in Italy and France. The company relies on independent distributors who cover 150 specialty outdoor and fashion retailers in the Southeast and the mountainous regions of the country, plus Japan, England, Canada, and Norway.

Unlike the Orosi brand, traditional kayak helmets resemble the motorcycle variety: domes in primary colors that envelop the ears. Orosi's helmets sit rakishly above the ears. They blaze with sprightly, metallic finishes or soothe with earth tones. They sport names like Hawg, Lizard, and Kool Khat. The company's eyewear is sleek, futuristic, and equally hip; various styles are called Flake, Splat, Boof, and Boogie-Woogie. "We're trying to add style to boaters," says Robinson, noting that kayaking is no longer about "hippies hanging out on rivers listening to the Grateful Dead." The pizzazz is apparently working. Orosi's revenues leaped from $30,000 in 1996 to $120,000 in 1997, and this year they are projected to hit $400,000, which would put the company in the black for the first time.

Still, some in the industry think that Orosi's helmet design may compromise safety. "The helmets get noticed here more than they get bought," notes Joel Mallett of Backwoods Mountain Sports, in Ketchum, Idaho, who estimates that traditional models outsell Orosi's helmets 20 to one at the outdoor retailer.

Even Orosi's founders acknowledge that there's room for improvement. "White-water lids have become fashion statements and, for that reason, some offer more protection than others," reads a disclaimer in Orosi's catalog. The company has hired engineers to advise on a "technical" upgrade, Robinson says, adding, "All I can do is put every dime we make back into making a better helmet."

Kayaking and Madison Avenue

One sign of kayaking's popularity is a burst of start-up companies cashing in on America's zeal for the sport. Another surefire sign that kayaking has arrived: Madison Avenue's embrace. Toyota and Subaru, for example, have built ad campaigns around kayaking imagery.

Why is kayaking catching on as today's hottest adventure sport? To get at the answer, Inc. asked both Toyota and Subaru why they were drawn to the kayak.

Toyota deferred to Saatchi & Saatchi, its ad agency. From its office in Los Angeles, the advertising behemoth faxed an excerpt from a strategy report on Toyota's sports utility vehicle, the 4Runner. Toyota pairs the 4Runner with activities like kayaking, the report says, to appeal to its "target audience"--people who drive off-road to enjoy the outdoors and participate in "rugged activities."

And Subaru? From its U.S. headquarters, in Cherry Hill, N.J., it sent an excerpt from a report about Subaru customers, describing them as "rugged individualists," including, no doubt, those who merely fancy themselves as such. Ads that tie Subaru to rugged individualists' activities, notably kayaking, reinforce the "brand's image," the report says.

Translation: In the United States today, rugged outdoors activities are in, and kayaking is very in, as far as Toyota and Subaru are concerned.

Head Count
Number of participants, in millions

Sources: 1996 National Sporting Goods Association Participation Survey and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association Sports Participation Trends Report.