5 minute read
2018 has been an incredible year in #dryrobeterritory. We’ve been to some amazing events all across the globe, done some fantastic work with brilliant organisations and have seen dryrobes being used by everyone from elite athletes to film stars keeping warm on set.
Our favourite moments of this year though have come from some of the phenomenal things that our ambassadors have achieved this year. From dominating their chosen sports to going on world record-breaking adventures, we have been consistently blown away by what these guys have accomplished.
It was very hard to choose, but here are just five of the big moments that have rocked our year:
Ross Edgely’s Great British Swim
‘Naive enough to start, stubborn enough to finish’ sums up Ross Edgley’s world-record breaking swim around Great Britain pretty well. Initially, Ross believed that it would only take him 100 days to complete this swim, leaving Margate on 1st June he promised his girlfriend that he’d be back in time for his birthday in October. The reality was Ross spent 157 days out at sea, swimming for 12 hours a day, completing 1791 miles and arriving back in Kent on 4th November.
After battling against rough seas, polluted water and aggressive jellyfish Ross wrote himself into the history books and became the first person to swim around Great Britain, gaining recognition across the globe for this extraordinary feat.
Read the full story of his epic swim here and check out our interview with Ross below.
Jon Albon’s domination of Obstacle Course Racing
To say it’s been an extraordinary year for Jon Albon would be somewhat of an understatement. The 29 year old Skyrunning and Obstacle Course racer had an incredible season, winning the Spartan World Championships, Spartan Trifecta World Championships, Tougher Mudder World Championships, Ultra SkyMarathon World Championships and he retained the OCR World Championships for the fifth year in a row!
In December Jon flew to Iceland to compete in the Spartan Ultra World Championships, after winning the previous Spartan Championships in Lake Tahoe and Sparta, he was in line to take home a $1 million prize if he won the 24-hour endurance race and completed 100 miles of the course within that time. Unfortunately, conditions conspired against Jon and when it became clear that it would be impossible for him to complete the 100 miles he retired to enjoy well-earned rest.
Read the full story of Jon taking home his fifth World ORC title here and check out our coverage of the Spartan Ultra World Championships below.
Cal Major’s Paddle Against Plastic
Cal Major is passionate about ocean conservation. In order to raise awareness of the devastating impact that plastic pollution has on our coastline and waterways, Cal paddled nearly 1000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The journey saw her stand up paddleboard (SUP) for up to 12 hours a day along the west coast of Britain, as well as travelling inland along canals and rivers. As Cal traversed across the country she had to battle dangerous channels, navigate in fog, calculate tides, deal with changeable winds and wild camp amongst cows!
After 59 days on her board, Cal arrived at John O’Groats and became the first person in history to SUP from one end of the UK to the other. We are proud to have supported her on this incredible journey and help raise awareness of the effect that plastic is having on Britain’s coastline and waterways.
Find out more about Cal’s Paddle Against Plastic here, and read our interview with her here. A documentary about Cal’s journey is out soon, check out the stunning trailer below.
Cotty’s comeback
In November last year, big wave surfer Andrew Cotton took on a 60ft wave of the coast of Portugal and lost, breaking his back in the process. The wipeout in Nazare was so bad it even won the WSL Wipeout of the Year award! There was a huge outpouring of sympathy from the surfing community across the world for him.
This kind of injury was never going to stop Cotty though! Over the course of the year, he’s worked hard on his recovery and on the anniversary of the wipeout Cotty was back in the water at Nazare taking on the huge swell again. A truly inspirational recovery.
Follow his recovery and return to big wave surfing in Cotty’s excellent ‘Bounce Back’ series on YouTube:
The dryrobe community
What inspired us most of all in 2018 though was the incredible support we continued to receive from the dryrobe community across the world. We developed and envolved the dryrobe using feedback from people who use the product, so it’s always great to see people getting out there and sharing their pictures using the #dryrobeterritory hashtag.
We love seeing all the fantastic things you get up to in your dryrobes, and this helps motivate us all on a daily basis. Thank you all!
2019 is already lining up to be another epic year, we can’t wait to share the journey with you!
#dryrobeterritory