The BARK story started long before Joe Bark, with a group of Southern Californians who made it their business to spend every possible moment on the sea. Lifeguards and ocean athletes, they by necessity spent their days outdoors, swimming, diving, paddling and running. Years later, and inspired by this tradition, Joe Bark and a group of Southern California watermen would continue to embrace that lifestyle, eventually seeking out the best equipment they could find for their pursuits. When they couldn't find it, they made it—paddleboards and surfboards, and, now BARK—stylish, technical apparel for today's outdoor athlete. BARK: born on the water.

So BARK was started by a group of Southern California surfers, paddlers, lifeguards, divers, and watermen who, with Joe Bark, turned their passion into a pursuit, centered on a life lived in and around the water, whether that means downriver paddles in Colorado, lake swims in Nevada, or a sunset surf session at Malibu.

BARK is practical fitness. This is getting up at five in the morning to paddle three miles because you like the way the sun feels on your skin, not because you're hoping to get a nice set of abs. This is going for a soft sand run because the treadmill makes you cringe. This is hoping to finish that Ironman, or that cross-channel swim, because it means something to you, and because you want to stay in the game.