Long ago, Kristofer and Eden would go down to the pier to crab in the evenings. It was an excellent opportunity for them to just hang out and take in the lovely BC sunsets. It was never about catching as many crabs as possible; they'd snack, chat, and occasionally head home with an unlucky crustation. Every time they went, they always looked a bit enviously at those who used a boat to get out just that little further to crabbier waters.

It was at that time that Eden had this wondrous idea of buying an inflatable raft for Father's Day so the two of them could join in on the rewards of deeper waters. Everyone knows that just out of everyone's reach is the best fishing or crabbing spot in the world! That is where you always bring up completely full pots of crab - Right?

In Eden's excitement of what he thought was the most incredible gift, he shared his plan with Uncle Greg. While respecting the enthusiasm of a 13-year-old nephew, Greg kindly brought Eden back to reality. He thoughtfully questioned the logistics of the two of them cramped up inside Canadian Tire's most glorified pool floaty. Eden looks back to this day and says, "In hindsight, if any wandering gazes didn't puncture the boat, the first crab we encountered undoubtedly would have."

Greg thought the idea itself was great, but the execution needed some work. Being the problem-solving uncle he was, he started to look into some safer options before Eden gave his gift. On Fathers Day, Kristofer was fascinated by the present, and then it hit him. He took a look at the small inflatable boat and immediately became concerned over floating off into the sunset to their deaths. After great deliberation, the floaty was returned, and Greg started looking for an alternative and found a wonderful world of Zodiac-style inflatable boats.

You see, Greg and Kristofer's father was a 2nd Mate (Navigations Officer) for BC Ferries. He loved taking the safety and rescue boat for a spin. It was a Zodiac RIB with twin 150HP outboards, and he loved that boat so much he was quick to suggest an inflatable boat just like that. Unfortunately, that style of boat was outside the affordability range. Greg quickly found Zodiac also had FIBs that folded up and could be carried around in a couple of small packages. Foldable Inflatable Boats (sometimes called SIBs or Soft Inflatable Boats) ticked all the features and concerns all three of them had!

Quickly after, the three of them found themselves on their first boat adventure: fishing on Jones Lake. Although the three of them very much loved the idea of the boat, they were all quite critical about the design. After a bunch of "I wish they had done ____ differently!" commends, Eden piped up and asked, "Can't we make one of these better?" Being very entrepreneurial, both Kristofer and Greg turned and looked at each other and took inventory of what would be needed. After a brief moment, they both said, "Sure! Why can't we?"

At that very moment, Swellfish Outdoor Equipment Co. was born. Uncle Greg quickly took the lead on Research and Development, father Kristofer took up the Business and Marketing side, and nephew and son Eden grabbed ahold of Social Media and Sales. Years later, everyone is still here, making these boats better and better. The future of Swellfish is unbelievably bright!

From everyone at Swellfish, "We welcome everyone to join our family and share in all the fun the outdoors has to offer."