Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan Rock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Ryan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Fat Boy Surf Club really started as a covid joke/hobby that took off farther than we ever thought it could and now we are lucky enough to own a booming e-commerce company. Back in 2020 they closed all of the beaches in Los Angeles unless you were doing activities like surfing, walking, running, etc. so my two business partners, Josh Rubin and Jackson Rogers, were coming over everyday to borrow my old boards and wetsuits and learning to surf.
While feeling the wetsuits were particularly unflattering, the self deprecating jokes began and someone made the joke of “Fat Boy Surf Club”. The jokes continued over breakfast burritos until we eventually decided to get shirts made. We thought the original shirts would just be for friends and family, but we quickly realized we had something worthwhile once we saw how much people resonated with the brand and our mission.
Fat Boy Surf Club was founded on the belief that it is more fun to surf with your friends than be in a crowded, aggressive lineup. Surfing is meant to be fun and it is important to not take yourself, or life, too seriously. We are all ex-college athletes who have gained a few extra pounds over the years because of our love for food and having a few too many beverages, which is why the company motto is “You Don’t have to be Ripped to Rip”.
At the end of the day, being a Fat Boy is a mindset so it doesn’t matter if you are a boy, girl, size small, 5xl or anything in-between, we have room for you in the club! We also donate a portion of our proceeds to the Save the Manatees Foundation (the original fat boys of the sea) and other ocean conservation organizations like, the Surfrider Foundation.
Ryan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I (Ryan Rock) grew up in San Diego and have been surfing for over 15 years, so I have always had an interest in the surf industry. Growing up I could never understand why I was not able to ride these 5’4 potato chip boards. It wasn’t until I realized the typical pro surfer is around 150-170 lbs and us bigger 200+ lbs boys needed more volume that I really fell in love with the sport.
When we started Fat Boy Surf Club we realized we weren’t the only ones that this resonated with. We started the company by buying 25 shirts, which we sold and used that money to buy 50 more shirts. We started the instagram and the website and began to grow through organic word of mouth and the support of our friends and family.
Jackson Rogers and Josh Rubin have an incredible eye for design and knowing what materials and colors we should be using for each product. Because of them we now have 50+ awesome shirts, hats, and hoodies available for purchase on our website and have sold over 10,000 orders since August 2020.
What started as a hobby has now become a real e-commerce apparel company. We pride ourselves on our high quality garments, our customer service, and the organic community we have been able to build. When someone purchases from Fat Boy Surf Club, we want them to feel that they are actually joining the club. If there is ever an issue with a product or delivery, the customer is speaking directly to one of us and we will do whatever it takes to make it right.
We are incredibly proud of this community we have been able to build. We started reposting everyone who tags us on instagram wearing the gear and now our customers know to tag us in all their photos. This has really helped the brand grow organically and it has been very rewarding to see the photos from all over the country/the amount of customers telling us about all the compliments they receive while wearing their FBSC gear.
We preach that surfing is for everyone and that being a Fat Boy is a mindset. We don’t care if you don’t surf, as long as you like to have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously, we’ve got room for you in the club. We are very proud that this mantra has hit home with our customers (both surfers and non surfers) and has allowed us to give back to great causes. We now are the proud owners of 4 adopted manatees and look forward to continuing to donate to great causes that help our oceans.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
What helped build our reputation in the market and with our customers is that we have always used high quality garments. Even from the first shirts we ever made, we never went for the cheap $2 tees to print on, we started with premium tri-blend tees.
These were obviously more expensive to produce, but made a world of difference in comfort and fit. Many of our first customers were friends and family or people who purchased because they thought the shirts were funny. However, once they received them and felt the softness and quality, they quickly became their favorite shirts and came back to purchase again. This really helped us grow organically and through word of mouth.
Today we still sacrifice margin for higher cost garments that people will want to wear everyday. Our goal is to create repeat customers and when you make a product that becomes their new favorite shirt, they come back for more. If they also receive compliments while wearing your gear, that is the cherry on top.
Once we had products that people loved, the other thing that helped us build trust with our customers was our customer service. Since the beginning we have always offered free returns and exchanges. We try and make it as easy and as seamless as possible for our customers to receive their exchanged products and will always replace any lost or damaged packages so that there is no risk for the customer.
Shipping delays and issues are always part of the game so we have always tried to over-communicate and take ownership for any issues. We acknowledge that we are still a small company and always thank our customers for their support. It sounds cliché, but these small things have helped us receive countless 5 star reviews and repeat customers.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
We built our audience on social media by having our customers and their user generated content be a key focus of our social media strategy. From the beginning we have always reposted everyone who tags us in their in their stories wearing their FBSC gear and used top photos from users on our grid.
This has helped us build an organic community of followers and has really given Fat Boy Surf Club a real “club” feel. It has almost become like a cult following as our fans now know to bring their FBSC gear on their trips and tag us in photos from all over the world. Fat Boy Surf Club products have been tagged in Costa Rica, Egypt, Hawaii, Spain, Austraillia, Scotland and just about every state in the US.
People love being featured on our page and it gives us a chance to interact with our customers/reward them for their purchases. When they tag us in their stories and feeds, it gets our brand in front of all of their followers which helped us grow our audience.
The biggest piece of advice we can give to those just starting to build their social media presence is authenticity. We did not follow one of those cookie cutter blueprints to try and make the algorithm work for us. We posted photos that we liked that showcased our customers, our products, or the Fat Boy Surf Club lifestyle.
We found and collaborated with brands with similar vibes/values to do cobranded giveaways which helped grow our following. We want our posts to provide value to our followers with opportunities for giveaways, showcase our new products, or provide first access to our sales and drops.
If we can provide value to our followers when we post and stay authentic to ourselves and our brand, we feel that is the best way to retain our followers and to continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fatboysurfclub.com
- Instagram: @fatboysurfclub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fatboysurfclub/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fat-boy-surf-club/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: twitter.com/FatBoySurfClub
Image Credits
Aric Van Halen Annelaure & Krisztina Photography Kristina Bremer