Waves Gear

Floating Sunglasses, Micro Towels, Forever Cold Insulated Water Bottles

ESTABLISHED 2012 – FOUNDERs Blake Macleod – EMPLOYEES: 2 – Location: CHicago, IL

About Waves Gear

The true “A-HA” moment happened as I watched a fifth pair of sunglasses drown in Lake Michigan. It was the summer of 2010; I was in my late 20s and living in my hometown of Chicago, IL. It’s not that I didn’t love my job in software engineering chained to a desk for hours on end, it’s that my mind was constantly on the water. As a native-born Canadian, my parents, brothers and I traveled every summer to our family cottage on Stony Lake, where as many activities as possible took place on the water. We’d transform into part fish as if it was in our DNA. Living in Chicago with Lake Michigan in constant view, I was able to exert those fish-like qualities with some of my dearest friends who happened to have boats and were ever-eager to use them (Danny, Matt, Kevin, Natalie…big thanks). The only issue I had during the summer of 2010, besides my growing disdain for deskwork, was the fact that I lost SO MANY pairs of sunglasses to the bottom of the lake. Whether the shades slipped off my face while leaning over the edge of a boat, or I completely forgot that they were on me as I eagerly hurled myself into the water, the shades were sucked below the surface, never to be seen again.

Totally irritated with myself and also the effects of gravity, my mind started racing, and I knew something had to be done. The world was in need of good-looking floating sunglasses, and I was just the man for the job. The name “Waviators” appeared one day in my head and was excited when GoDaddy revealed the domain was actually available.

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By: Drew Pfundstein