Our Story

Now recognized as one of the most influential surf brands of all time, GOTCHA began humbly out of a garage in Laguna Beach, California in 1978. The brands bold colors and even bolder attitude led to a meteoric rise documented by founder and surf legend Michael Tomson.

GOTCHA catapulted the surf industry into a new realm, gave it respect and opened up the perception of surf as a legitimate category in apparel. Suddenly every major department store in the US had to have surf products on their shelves. Trade shows turned into near riots with every retailer trying to buy surf product, it was crazy. Did we expect it? No. Did we plan for it? Hell no! We were just having fun. We were making the clothes we thought were cool and taking it from there.

GOTCHA grew in a short 10 year period to become one of the largest and most important surf brands in the world. And we did it through innovative design and extremely bold advertising. The persona we created for the brand was totally unique and modern, unlike anything in the market before us. Which is why we were recognized with numerous awards for design and art direction. We created product categories that surf shops had never carried before.