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The history of GUL.
Kuupäev: 22.01.2012
It has been more than 40 years since Dennis Cross, a man with a passion for surfing, decided that enough was enough. Although he loved surfing, the waters of the Atlantic were too cold, he therefore set about finding a solution to the problem and that was how the first custom-built Gul wetsuit for surfers was born.
It has been more than 40 years since Dennis Cross, a man with a passion for surfing, decided that enough was enough. Although he loved surfing, the waters of the Atlantic were too cold, he therefore set about finding a solution to the problem and that was how the first custom-built Gul wetsuit for surfers was born.
The first wetsuit was constructed around 1962/63 in the back of his VW Split Screen Van on Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall and consisted of 2 pieces – a jacket with a beaver tail and separate trousers.
Demand for Gul wetsuits increased very quickly and production moved to a lock up garage at the back of the Bristol Hotel in Newquay. This was the beginning of Gul and the beginning of surfing in England. It was during the late 1960’s that the boom started for Gul – they were one of only a handful of manufacturers in Europe and demand was increasing at an amazing rate. The most important times for Gul came in the early seventies, when Dennis created the one-piece wetsuit, which was named ‘The Steamer’ due to the steam that came from your wetsuit when removing it on cold days.
Improvement to the design of the ‘Steamer’ continued and the introduction of better quality rubber meant that Gul was making the warmest and most flexible suits on the market.
Gul’s immediate success wasn’t solely down to the boom in surfing in the UK, France, Portugal and Spain, but also the advent of windsurfing in Holland around the mid ‘70’s. Suits were ideal for windsurfing due to their warmth and extra flexibility and business was growing rapidly across Europe and expansion was needed. The three members of staff that were running the business grew to 15 and were producing 200-300 suits per week.
The eighties and nineties saw continued expansion throughout Europe and extending to worldwide appeal. Gul had become one of the most well-known and respected watersports brands, sponsoring some of the highest profile surfers in the world, including Christian Fletcher, Todd Prestage and Russell Winter.
In 1995 Gul had a purpose built 60,000 sq. feet £2 million factory built in Bodmin, which was the most modern wetsuit manufacturing facility in Europe and employed over 160 people. Gul now produces in excess of 35,000 wetsuits per year and export to over 50 countries worldwide.
In 2004 Gul opened its first, ‘stand alone store’ in the South West, which has now grown to a total of 9 ‘own brand’ stores and has become a successful part of the growing Gul business.
The first wetsuit was constructed around 1962/63 in the back of his VW Split Screen Van on Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall and consisted of 2 pieces – a jacket with a beaver tail and separate trousers.
Demand for Gul wetsuits increased very quickly and production moved to a lock up garage at the back of the Bristol Hotel in Newquay. This was the beginning of Gul and the beginning of surfing in England. It was during the late 1960’s that the boom started for Gul – they were one of only a handful of manufacturers in Europe and demand was increasing at an amazing rate. The most important times for Gul came in the early seventies, when Dennis created the one-piece wetsuit, which was named ‘The Steamer’ due to the steam that came from your wetsuit when removing it on cold days.
Improvement to the design of the ‘Steamer’ continued and the introduction of better quality rubber meant that Gul was making the warmest and most flexible suits on the market.
Gul’s immediate success wasn’t solely down to the boom in surfing in the UK, France, Portugal and Spain, but also the advent of windsurfing in Holland around the mid ‘70’s. Suits were ideal for windsurfing due to their warmth and extra flexibility and business was growing rapidly across Europe and expansion was needed. The three members of staff that were running the business grew to 15 and were producing 200-300 suits per week.
The eighties and nineties saw continued expansion throughout Europe and extending to worldwide appeal. Gul had become one of the most well-known and respected watersports brands, sponsoring some of the highest profile surfers in the world, including Christian Fletcher, Todd Prestage and Russell Winter.
In 1995 Gul had a purpose built 60,000 sq. feet £2 million factory built in Bodmin, which was the most modern wetsuit manufacturing facility in Europe and employed over 160 people. Gul now produces in excess of 35,000 wetsuits per year and export to over 50 countries worldwide.
In 2004 Gul opened its first, ‘stand alone store’ in the South West, which has now grown to a total of 9 ‘own brand’ stores and has become a successful part of the growing Gul business.
