Our Story
Some people have asked, "How did you guys come up with Barlz?". Well, here's the story.
Jake Kirschenbaum grew up in Cocoa Beach Florida with parents who were surfers. Being surrounded by water, watersports, and activities were a daily thing, it was part of life. At a young age, Jake was very fond of fashion art and surfing being able to mold both of those together while modeling for Ralph Lauren, Disney and many others.
With both parents being artists, Jake always gravitated to creativity and the ability to express himself through art and surfing. At the age of 12, Jake began receiving sponsorships for surfing and started competing every weekend. This gave him the opportunity to see the world, different walks of life, fashion in other areas, and it opened his mind to the infinite possibilities of life. Jake was fortunate enough to spend many winters on the North Shore of Oahu surfing Pipeline, as well as traveling all over Australia, Indonesia, Central America, New Zealand, the Caribbean and the entire Eastern Coast of the US. Barlz has reinvigorated his love of surfing, fashion and community, and it is fulfilling his desire to create fun, cool, comfortable and affordable clothing for the surfing and beach lifestyles.
Right out of high school, James Sweigert headed to study at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. There, he studied everything from fashion illustration and textiles to color theory, marketing and advertising while improving his paddle-out skills at Ocean Beach. But all along, he dreamed of creating his own brand.
Fast forward to a milestone birthday, when James reached out to Jake to help set up a surf trip to the legendary Surf Ranch in Central California. Jake, who grew up surfing with Kelly Slater in Cocoa Beach, remained close with him and was able to make a call to help get the trip set up. As a designer, James created a custom hoodie for the entire crew to rock on their adventure.
Everything changed for the guys after seeing a photo of one of the members of the 1930s Manhattan Beach Surfing Club at the pier, on Encyclopedia of Surfing. Inspired, they whipped up a custom hoodie for the local crew at Tower 34, and before they knew it, everyone in the neighborhood wanted one.
One day, as the guys were doing their usual thing—cheering their friends on in the water, shouting out, “Pull into the BARL, dude!”, "Let's get BARLZ!” The idea stuck. The idea of a brand popped up, they grabbed the domain for $9.99, and immediately, the website was instantly valued at $2,500. They had turned a profit before they'd even sold a T-shirt and Barlz was born. The name Barlz is all about that pure stoke you get from cheering on your friends when it's pumping - or not.
If you see the big black Barlz Hunter at your favorite spot, tag us a with a pic of you in some BARLZ and we’ll hook you up with a free Barlz T-shirt.
Let’s get you in some Barlz!
Jake & James