KENOATH HISTORY

In the middle of lockdown 2021 Rob Charlwood from Throttle Down Under captured the heart and soul of Kenoath in this emotional interview.

2008 – Kenoath is trademarked.

For years I had lamented the demise of small local independent surf shops.  Many had closed as they struggled to compete against the shopping mall brands – ironically the brands they had supported for years now had set up mega stores in the malls.

I started making my own tees. I grabbed old surf pics and cool car images like the Superoo and Sandman and got them printed on my own tees.

I wondered why no brand was revering Australian culture and our wonderful heritage.

So I trademarked Kenoath in 2008. However it took me 3 years before I pulled my finger out.

2011

We designed and printed our first tees and set up a stall at Greazefest, Brisbane. We made $350 and drank half of it on the way home at the Shaftson Hotel.

 

2012

We launched the Kenoath Facebook page and start designing the website. Back in those days you couldn't buy a Shopify website for $150.

Pre-launch down on the Gold Coast we sponsored the Sons of Beaches surf exhibition and popped a few eyeballs out in the process.

  

2013

March 31, 2013 - The Kenoath Website is lauched. 

Kenoath sponsors the Australian Men's Bobsled Team.  After being told by the Australian Olympic Committee we couldn't proceed with a Boxing Kangaroo design we designed a t-shirt called KICKARSE.

All proceeds from the sale of tees went to the team and helped them purchase a new sled which helped them qualify for the 2014 Olympic Games at Sochi.

 

 

2014

We started running a stall at the Burleigh Village Markets. The brand started to take off. We were packing orders late into the morning, working full time jobs and running Kenoath after work and into the weekends.

2015

Then the shit hit the fan! 

My father Desi Snr became ill and passed away. I lost my best mate and hero and I plummeted into a deep depression. I couldn’t manage both a full-time job and running Kenoath part-time. Something had to give. We closed the Kenoath website & store.

2017

It took me a couple of years to recover from a hell trip.

I did keep our Facebook page bubbling along. Surprisingly it continued to grow and grow. Many of our followers wanted us to bring back the tees.

In December 2017, I viewed this piss funny video on Youtube from a Sunny Coast shed band called The Chats. It had 54 views. I shared it on the Kenoath Facebook page and it went batshit. 

The riff of Smoko made me want to pack the truck and head off on an endless surf trip. This song and their vibe stirred something in me....

 

 

 

2019

In September 2019 Kenoath was relaunched with a lush new website and new logo

 

2020

The Bushfires knocked the stuffing out of Australia. 

Kenoath launched a 'Mates helping Mates' Bushfire appeal to support the Salvos in their relief efforts. The response from our customers was heartwarming. How fken good are Aussies.

 

2020 - 21

 

 

Winter 2021

We throw our heart behind the Fenndog Fundraiser - to help raise funds and awareness for mental health, depression and suicide. Matt Fennel sets out to walk 4800 kms from the tip of Australia to the bottom of Tassie. This amazing man is brewing joy and hope with every step.This begins the first of many Mental Health projects Kenoath supports.

Post Convid

Like thousands of other Austrlian businesses, Kenoath gets smashed with the lockdowns. Our business is severely impacted with a 5 month battle with Meta as our advertising account is frozen. In error they freeze our account as their bots  deem our use of word "cracker" as hate speech. Finally after admission of their error no compensation nor apology was offerred for our losses. 

2023

The brand launches the Dream Machines project. A monthly feature of Kenoath photography where a lady is paired with a dream car. In November Kenoath launches the Dream Machines 2024 Calendar.