Reef

Reef has always blended the cool and casual attitude of the beach with a commitment to nurturing the lifestyle that follows. At the core of the Reef brand are authentic, surf inspired designed products that have been worn by millions of Reefers around the world since the company originated in 1984. Our brand is further defined by the elite class of Reef ambassadors that scour the globe in search of the best waves, surrounded by some of the most beautiful and remote places on the planet. Riders like Bobby Martinez, Sofia Mulanovich, Rob Machado and Mick Fanning graciously live out a fantasy that only a small portion of the world ever gets to experience. Reef is all about finding that place, and savoring the feeling no matter where you may be.

Reef’s twenty year heritage traces back to two brothers from Argentina, Fernando and Santiago “Santi” Aguerre. Fueled by their passion for surfing, and armed with a unique entrepreneurial spirit, the brothers acted on an idea to create a high quality, active lifestyle sandal. Attracted to the Southern California lifestyle, Santi moved to California in the early 80’s and would shortly be reunited with his brother. Fernando graduated from Law School and headed to La Jolla to help co-found Reef. With $4000 working capital, hard work, dedication and some savvy marketing ideas, the brothers built Reef into the #1 sandal brand. Nearly two decades later, the company is thriving as one of the leading surf brands in the world offering men’s closed toed footwear and apparel along with women’s and kid’s sandals.

Fernando and Santiago knew they had a great product, but they wanted to separate themselves from the other surf companies. Inspired by the notoriously beautiful women of the beaches in South America, the brothers saw an opportunity to introduce the surf market to an exotic element that they called Miss Reef. Never revealing her face or identity, the brothers used Miss Reef to help convey their idea of the surf lifestyle. The first advertisement involving Miss Reef was rejected from the Surfing magazines for the controversial content, but after some convincing the ads finally ran. The surfers who read the magazines were instantly intrigued by the exotic and beautiful figure in the ads. Since then, Miss Reef has become a global icon of the surfing community. She has remained an integral component of Reef’s DNA and contributed to the success of Reef.

Through all the change over the past two decades, Reef is driven by the same constant – we are surfers at heart, drawing influences from the world around us. We still stand for the same things that the company was founded on by Fernando and Santi back in 1984. Reef is a core surf company. We create authentic and innovative products intended to nurture an incredibly fortunate lifestyle that involves surf, sensuality and a life filled with happiness.

Follow us … We’ll take you there.