If necessity is the mother of invention, then it was only a matter of time before Malibu surfers took matters into their own hands when it comes to sunscreen products.
Like most surfers, Point Dume resident Griff Snyder continually sought the Holy Grail of sunscreens, trying a myriad of commercially available products over the years.
After obtaining a degree from Cal Poly, he eventually opened his own business in Camarillo in 2011 — Nouvelle Labs, Inc. — a contract skincare products manufacturer.
“I’m a formulator with a background in finance and biology,” Snyder said.
Willing to give it a shot of his own, he decided to go into the lab one day and concoct a batch of sunscreen for his own personal use.
“I wanted a great all-around sunscreen for surfing.”
The ideal product would keep skin from getting fried in the ultra-glare of sun hitting the water while surfing, be as water- and sweat-proof as possible, and, because of the health and environmental consciousness of most surfers, an ideal sunscreen wouldn’t harm humans or the environment.
Snyder was thrilled by how well his concoction worked for him personally and wanted to get a second opinion. His father, Griff Snyder, Sr., approached their neighbor on Point Dume, surf legend Strider Wasilewski, and asked if he’d test a supply of the experimental sunscreen on his next surf tour.
Wasilewski, a professional who’s been winning surf contests since the age of 12 and considers himself “more of a big-wave surfer,” is also very fair-skinned.
“I had three moles taken off my back at the age of 16, and I’ve been very careful [about preventing skin cancer] ever since then,” he said.
For over a year, Wasilewski took Snyder’s product around the world with him, testing it while surfing in Mexico, Australia, Hawaii and Tahiti, and snowboarding in northwestern Canada.
“I used it in all these extreme places, where the sun would be twice as strong as usual because of reflections, and it was amazing,” he said. “It outperformed any sunscreen I’ve ever used.”
Wasilewski returned from his world tour a convert, and he and Snyder decided to form a partnership.
“I wasn’t intending on bringing it to market,” Snyder said, “but it worked so well” they made a business plan.
“It was a perfect synergy of skill sets,” Wasilewski said. “Griff had the formulation and production background, and I’ve been with Quiksilver and Lost Surfboards, and have relationships with all the surf shops. It’s been an amazing partnership. I do sales and marketing, and he does product development and manufacturing.”
They named the line Shade.
“Coppertone had the name ‘Shade’ for 30 years,” Wasilewski said, “but they discontinued that product line 10 years ago and we were able to get the name trademarked.”
“We tested the market in May 2014 with 50 core surf shops – shops that are the life and core of the surf industry – because that’s what the product was originally designed for,” Wasilewski said, “but it’s fast become more of a woman’s product, especially the tinted version.”
Over the next five years, the duo hopes to reel in the international surf market, then access specialty sports markets like Sports Chalet, Bass Pro and big-box retailers.
A bottle of Shade goes for $28 — not cheap. But the partners are quick to defend the cost.
“Cheaper sunscreens are full of cheaper ingredients,” Wasilewski said. “For what’s actually in our product, we’re the lowest-priced premium sunscreen. Some companies charge up to $80 for a product [with similar ingredients], but we didn’t want to price out the surfers or the cosmetic world.”
“On a per-ounce basis, given the quality of our product, it’s competitively lower than Shiseido, Vertra or Watermans, and I think we offer a much better product than they do,” Snyder added.
Shade sunscreen is available currently in SPF-30 opaque and tinted facial lotion, but next month the duo will release additional products that include an SPF-50 cover stick, SPF-30 body lotion, after-sun products and an SPF-30 all zinc oxide sunscreen. All products are mineral-based with micronized zinc and titanium dioxide for UVA/UVB protection without chemical filters, paraben, glycol or animal-derived ingredients.
Shade is sold online and in Malibu at Drill Surf Shop, SunLife Organics, Aviator Nation and Canyon Beachwear. To learn more, visit shadesunscreen.com.
