Philip Curry, the founder and CEO of Astral, shared with SGB Executive the origins behind the eco-conscious brand, its success in water shoes, the inroads the company has made in the trail shoe and hemp apparel categories, and the push to extend Astral to the broader outdoor market.

Curry founded Astral, headquartered in Asheville, NC, in 2002.

SGB: How did Astral get its start?
Philip Curry: Astral’s story begins on a farm. After selling my first company, Lotus Designs, to Patagonia in 1999, I pursued my dream job: running an 80-acre biodynamic farm. One day, in the middle of a field, I thought, “Can I actually preserve more water and soil by getting back into the outdoor gear business?” I did the math and realized that by creating high-performance products from natural materials, I could potentially have a much larger impact. So, Astral was founded with a core mission: to protect as much soil and water as possible. We started in 2002, producing lifejackets (PFDs) that helped move the industry away from PVC foams. We even use a buoyant plant fiber called Kapok. In 2012, we entered the footwear market because there was no brand producing great shoes for whitewater paddlers, and I believed shoes could connect Astral with millions of new customers. After a few years, we began using hemp-based canvas in our footwear, and it performs amazingly. Over the years, we developed a great relationship with an incredible hemp farm and fabric mill and, last year, we introduced a small collection of hemp-based apparel that is rocking along. Today, most of our business is in footwear; however, PFDs remain a very large part of our total business. Apparel is new and growing fast.

SGB: In July, Astral reported that its rep count had grown by 41 percent over the past 12 months, indicating that the company is likely experiencing growth. What’s behind that?
Curry: The increase in rep headcount is the result of a strategic shift. We kept many of our lone reps as great partners to our paddlesports-centered accounts and added a few rep agencies that are experienced in footwear and/or apparel. The addition of agencies gives us more headcount and boots on the ground, which is great. We’ve seen that to keep growing at our retail partners, we have had to increase our marketing and training efforts to drive consumer awareness and sell-through. We have methodically increased our marketing over the last few years, and it’s been fun to see that effort attract new customers. When people discover Astral, they find a company with decades of legitimacy and an unbroken commitment to making innovative stuff for cool people who love nature. There are just not many companies out there that can honestly claim that.

SGB: Footwear seems to be where Astral is taking off. What’s driving the growth?
Curry: For footwear, our growth has been driven by a focus on our core styles. The Loyak, Brewer and TR1s have become brand-defining products for us. With our roots in “performance water shoes,” they are all intrinsically light, breathable and grippy. I think our low-key style makes them accessible for everyday use, so people are loving how versatile and legit Astral shoes are. We recently launched two new trail shoes, which are inspired by our best-selling Loyak but built for the trail. The first is the TechYak, which has a more minimal stack height of 13mm. The other is the Nosobo, which has a 20mm stack height. In the near future, you will see Astral adding more styles featuring hemp-based canvas uppers. Hemp is the most amazing fabric you have never worn, and we look forward to changing that.

SGB: What trends are you seeing in footwear?
Curry: Obviously, run is still huge at the moment, especially the thick and fluffy style. Hoka deserves all the credit as they created a new product paradigm that made trail racers faster, short people taller and sore feet comfortable. But the trend that I find most interesting is the counterbalancing one. The fluffy, overbuilt trend has caused the pendulum to swing back to lower, simpler shoes, evidenced by the notable uprising (again) of Adidas Sambas. I like this trend because our Loyak has been described as “the outdoor version of a Samba”.

SGB: How is the PFD business performing?
Curry: The PFD business is trucking along. It’s definitely down from the highs of 2022, but there is always a strong demand for high-end PFDs, and we’re super committed to the category. Our most recent product launch is a new model called the Lonnie, which brings design inspiration from running vests and applies those concepts to life jackets, and is specifically designed for all-water paddlers.

SGB: Astral garnered buzz with the launch of the Hemptech collection. Can you give us with an update on the company’s apparel business?
Curry: Our goal with apparel is to illuminate the amazing performance that hemp-based fabrics provide. It is incredibly breathable, durable, odor-resistant, and sheds heat faster than any fabric. We started with the key basics for warm weather: tees, shorts and sun hoodies. The products you see now took years to develop and test, and we’ve been hell-bent on getting those basics right. We launched them last summer with a very limited marketing budget because we wanted to get them into the market and see how people reacted. The consumer response has been phenomenal, so we intend to keep building in this area.

SGB: Is the distribution strategy changing with the rep hires?
Curry: Our distribution strategy is rooted in strong retail partnerships. The recent expansion of our rep force into full-service agencies is a key part of our push into the broader outdoor market, ensuring we have more people on the ground telling our story. While some of our newest categories, like apparel, started with a direct-to-consumer approach to test the waters, we are now fielding numerous inquiries about it across our dealer network. We will likely expand our apparel distribution into some key retail partners in the future.

SGB: How are tariffs impacting the business?
Curry: That’s a tough one. Tariffs are a significant and complex challenge for our business, as they are for the whole industry. It’s a constant factor we have to manage in our planning and pricing.

SGB: You spoke with SGB in 2016 and stated that your ambition was to build Astral into an active lifestyle brand. Does that still hold true?
Curry: For sure! I named the company ‘Astral’ as a reminder to always be drawn upward and outward, and I think this reflects our growth mentality. Over time, we are building an alternative outdoor brand where our commerce positively influences how land and water are managed globally. That is our never-ending ambition and commitment.

Images courtesy Astral (shown lead image: Loyak performance shoe)