I‘ve just spent a week sampling the “luxury experience economy” in Del Mar California at the HQ of Matuse Inc., who lead the way in surfwear and apparel that uniquely combine luxury with environmental consciousness. Surf and Sports clothing items are made from Geoprene, a limestone based rubber used in early space missions. Geoprene is lighter, warmer and more durable that petroleum-based Neoprene, making it the kindest to mother nature. So successful has the company been that it has recently been noticed the world over, having just made a bespoke wetsuit for the leader of one of the world’s greatest luxury brands. Alongside the core business, Matuse has built an impressive series of partnerships making it a small enterprise with a very large footprint. From licensing agreements with real estate firms to luxury sunglasses and performance sports apparel.
Some of the diverse tribes that are attracted to Matuse Products, young and old – from US Navy Seals through to world champion longboarder Joel Tudor
Matuse is about to launch a unique app which connects people, passions and purposes in the way that Daniel Pink describes in his groundbreaking book “A whole new mind”. This will enable the company to transcend its roots as a surf company towards one that connects the world’s greatest brands with the “experience economy”, especially companies interested in travel, sport, leisure, music and personal improvement. The CEO John Campbell describes one scenario:
Connecting People, Passions, Purposes
Julie is a psychologist and yoga instructor from San Francisco. She works with high net worth individuals in the South Pacific and is travelling back from Bali where she was running a yoga retreat. She also took some time out on a yacht with some executives collecting plastic debris from the ocean. She is en route to LA thanks to air travel credits she has acquired from Matuse’s app for her work. She chooses Matuse wetsuits as the best overall choice in terms of their environmental footprint.
Dr John is Senior Vice President of Health Economics at a major Pharmaceutical company, travelling from London via New York and LA first class to San Diego via San Francisco for a conference. John surfs in Cornwall and chooses Matuse wetsuits for their functionality and style. He is an avid follower of the iconic surfer Joel Tudor and has heard about a convention and personal coaching masterclass Joel is giving in Del Mar California, the place which inspired The Beach Boys to write their classic “Surfing USA”.
John is at San Francisco airport and is searching for the masterclass details on the Matuse app when he gets an alert that Julie is also in the airport. It’s so rare to find two people with such interests that he sees if she will respond to an invite to connect. She does. They have coffee, share their lives their love of surfing and begin to explore their differences. Julie decides that John needs an education in responsible leadership and a possible longer term romance and decides to join him in Del Mar.
But Julie also does not want to go to Del Mar alone. She knows that she can gain more credits by inviting four friends to join them, so they set about connecting up their worlds, making new friends as a consequence and adding more people to the adventure.
On board, Virgin Atlantic have arranged for them to sit opposite each other, which is a nice piece of personalisation. They fall in love … Julie converts John under some pressure to come swimming with whales and to bring his fellow senior pharma executives on a plastic recovery mission …
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Matuse are looking for partners to work with them on their expansion plans and to have exclusive access to the app. Suitable partners could include companies in the travel, sport, hotel, luxury goods etc. Tranches of up to $5M are sought, in exchange for exclusive access to Matuse’s network and first mover advantage as a partner with their app. Please apply by writing to me in the first instance [email protected]
