Stokehouse’s New Brand Sisstrevolution: Derek O’Neill Explains All

Stokehouse, parent company to Vissla, D’Blanc and Amuse Society has just launched its fourth brand, Sisstrevolution. Paul Naude launched Stokehouse in 2015 and all three brands have seen decent traction within the surf industry, with Amuse Society also finding good traction in retailers away from surf.

Sisstervolution comes as the company notice a strong uptick in female surf and thanks to the success of Vissla, they feel they are well positioned to launch a girls surf brand where they can follow the same principals they do with Vissla: clean distribution, strong product, sensible production and all done sustainably where possible.

We speak with Stokehouse’s European GM, Derek O’Neill (to read more about Derek, see our latest Big Wig) to find out how Stokehouse will be leaning on Vissla’s success for the new brand, how Sisstrevolution and Amuse Society will differ, pricing, selling, staffing and more.

Gina Turpel, Lydia Ballesteros, Karen Sarver, Kristy Michaels, Patricia Gianessi

Why Sisstrevolution?
We have had girls surf in the back of our minds since day one, but we knew we were going to be busy with Vissla, and that proved to be the case. Our account base has been asking for something for girls for a long time, and with the new emphasis on women’s surfing and the energy we see coming from girls having fun in the water, we felt it was the right time we stepped in.

How will Sisstrevolution differ from Amuse Society?
Amuse Society is growing fast evolving into a contemporary fashion brand for an 18-35-year-old fashion-forward consumer. She loves the beach but maybe is not a surfer. Sisstr is for a younger 12-25-year-old girl who is active in or around the water and is either a surfer or will be the next time she is at the beach.

What is it that excites you about women’s surfing at the moment?
Technically, it seems like the top-level girls are lifting to another level. Airs and barrels are becoming common place but are being done with style and grace. The recent Surf Ranch event for example showed women’s surfing at its best. But even at a grass roots level, the water is always calmer and more chilled when girls are out surfing. The girls are always seeming to be the ones having the most fun in the water.

How will the brand differ itself from other girls only brands?
We are looking to follow the same type of direction as we have at Vissla. Clean distribution, strong product, make what we need, don’t flood the market, highlight super creative girls that are inspirational in their surfing and lifestyle, follow a sustainable approach where we can in fabrics….

Stokehouse’s Paul Naude and Derek O’Neill, Surf Expo 2018. Photo: BoardSport SOURCE

How will Sisstrevolution and Vissla work together?
We will operate from the same back end platform, and our stores know and trust our service. But of course, it will have its own separate design team.

Anyone on the athlete team yet?
We have indicated that we expect to have a top-level WSL athlete in the near future. But, it’s early days at the moment. We do however expect that the Sisstr team will be growing in the next six to 12 months in both athletes and ambassadors.

With millennials becoming less and less brand loyal, why is now the right time to launch a brand targeting this demographic?
The surf market is healthy in general, just maybe healthier for some brands than others. There are new ways to reach the customer and we have shown that with Vissla. We think with some market confusion comes opportunity and our customers have been asking for this for a long time.

Can you talk pricing to us?
Pricing is planned to be sitting in line with the majority of today’s existing girl’s surf brands

Do you have a selection of retailers already in mind for the brand?
Our primary focus is to offer it to our current surf shop account base for Vissla, most of them sell some girls product and we think we can get a good level of support. There are also some small cool girls only stores we will be open to as well.

How will you be implementing eco aspects to the brand?
At Vissla we are fully behind our up-cycled coconut nylon boardshort fabric and we will be looking to extend our credentials with Sisstrevolution utilising fabrics like organic cottons, hemp blends, and other natural fibres where we can.

Who’s on the management/design team?
Primarily driven from California, the brand will be firstly using our internal Stokehouse teams, and most of us have been heavily involved in the female surf business in the past, but we are bringing new talent into our organisation all the time and some of our Sisstr staff have been with us for only weeks. We are excited to see them develop.

Can we assume the Sisstrevolution wetsuits division will be lending heavily on Vissla’s experience?
Sure. Vissla wetsuits have made probably the biggest impact on the wetsuit market in the last 10 years or more, starting only three years ago. We think that we can bring a lot to the Sisstr wetsuit program.

When will you begin selling in?
We want to go back to a true surf shop calendar. Sell in late August and September for delivery Feb, March and April, with a Fall line to follow. We are looking to do it on a steady measured growth plan, step by step, and make sure we are having fun along the way.