I didn't start Naluka because I had a business plan.
I started it because I just wasn't able to find what I was looking for: a wetsuit that felt beautiful, was made with integrity and that could hold up in tricky conditions and still look like something I actually wanted to wear. Everyone I spoke to seemed to accept that you had to choose β performance or aesthetics. I didn't want to have to choose. So I made one myself, and Naluka was born.
Which is why I want to share something with you!
Naluka has been named one of two winners of The Ambition Project by Stake and with it $10,000 to invest in what we're building here!!!
I've been sitting with this for a few days, trying to find the right words. What keeps coming back to me isn't pride exactly β though there's some of that β it's something quieter. A sense of relief, maybe, that the vision I've been holding is legible to people outside of it. That when I describe what Naluka is trying to be β an environmentally conscious women's surf brand, beautiful and serious about the ocean, built to last β someone else looks at that and says: yes, that's the kind of ambition we want to back.
Building a brand from the ground up is an act of sustained belief in something that doesn't yet fully exist. There are mornings where the gap between where you are and where you want to be feels very wide. I won't pretend otherwise. What keeps me going is this community β the ocean lovers who've found Naluka and who wear our wetsuits for the most daring pursuits or their routine morning swim.
The $10,000 will go straight back into the brand and I can't wait to show you what I've been working on in the background!
For now: thank you for being here and for believing in what Naluka is becoming before it's fully arrived.
XX Cat
