Building a Category-Specific Brand with Dario Phillips of Slowtide

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 SlowtideThe Case for Category-Specific BrandsLicensing as a Growth StrategyCo-Founding Across Time Zones and IslandsFounder Confidence Over Outside HiresSustainable Growth and Giving BackLinks:

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 more about KORE and the podcast: https://koreoutdoors.org/podcast

The KORE Outdoors Podcast is supported by the Province of British Columbia.