Nineteen years ago, Rhythm Global General Manager Josh Barrett handled sales, invoicing, packing, and shipping for a then-start-up surf brand with virtually no sales.

“It was a four-person operation,” Barrett said. “I’m talking our total order book might have been $100,000. That was in 2004. It almost wasn’t the same industry.”

Surf is now undergoing unprecedented change that Barrett likens to a parting of the sea as uncertainty mounts around the industry landscape post-Boardriders‘ sale to Authentic Brands Group. For some, such as Australia-based Rhythm, the changes have led to shifts in its favor that it’s now looking to leverage with an expanded leadership of key marketing and sales hires from Vans and Salty Crew.

“Today, Rhythm is being looked at as a brand that has larger-scale opportunities (compared) to that of when we first came into the market,” Barrett said. “We’re now selling an established brand as opposed to launching a brand that was relatively unknown. When we first launched, we had a skilled but small and humble team in America and were treated as such. We were one of the fringe brands that retailers were buying small, curated assortments from, which helped ensure their racks had a point of difference for consumers. A lot of these stores that bought from that initial wave have continued to buy in this same formula, despite the brand becoming more known and successful in the marketplace.”

Perceptions are changing. Rhythm celebrated its 20th year in business this year, marking a milestone that places it farther away from its days as an industry newcomer.

“What we’re seeing now is Rhythm’s being considered a brand that’s now accepted and known by the market,” Barrett said. “People are actually looking at us as an opportunity of scale. We’re seeing that a lot of our new customers are almost immediately placing larger orders than some of our older customers. Our original customers mean the world to us, so we’re developing initiatives to ensure that we support those who helped pave the way for Rhythm, as well as working with new doors that open.”

Among the list of retailers that are either brand new or back on board with selling Rhythm are Sun Diego, 17th Street, Surfside Sports, and Val Surf.

Ultimately, Rhythm is on track to end 2024 with global revenue of $32 million. At the current growth rate, that would increase to $50 million in 2026, with about half of that revenue coming from the U.S. market, according to Barrett.

The company has also been re-tooling its executive team with positions that are now handling overarching strategies for Rhythm and sister brand Rusty, including sales and marketing.

The two brands share a parent in an undisclosed private equity firm that invests in development and manufacturing.

Building the Team

Most recently, Rhythm hired Christine Warren as group marketing manager in July. Warren had previously served as senior marketing manager at Vans.

There’s also Sean Fleuriau, group director of sales and former Salty Crew national sales manager, who joined Rhythm in December.

Fleuriau has focused mostly on Rhythm since joining the business, but began working more with Rusty Sales Manager Ryan Warner beginning with the brand’s Summer 2024 launch. The two have focused on underdeveloped sales territories to expand distribution.

Fleuriau described Rhythm’s more “elevated” approach across the business as being a unique differentiator. Having a manufacturing partner that allows the company to release limited edition collections minus the stress of minimums also makes the brand attractive.

“The bigger brands tend to pass on these opportunities if they don’t see the immediate ROI,” Fleuriau pointed out.

These limited-edition capsules complement other marketing efforts, help the brand keep up with trends, and will drop anywhere from four to eight times a year. They’re partially what brought Fleuriau to the business.

Group Operations Manager Kellyn Masuda is another part of the group executive structure and a company veteran. Masuda, who started at Rhythm more than 12 years ago, noted a similar upside as Fleuriau in the two brands sharing certain aspects of the business to help streamline processes.

“Over the past year, we’ve been working towards aligning the areas of Rhythm and Rusty that will increase operating efficiency,” Masuda said. “Being on the same operating systems and working with the same key personnel allow us to effectively grow two different brands.”

When Masuda first joined Rhythm’s U.S. office there were only a few people. The Irvine office is now full, with multiple departments and Masuda calling the current growth stage “exciting.”

In some ways, the office makeup at Rhythm has happened alongside the evolving business landscape in the broader surf and action sports industry.

“There has been a generational shift in brand trend since COVID, with an entirely new audience in surf. We are feeling the impact at Rhythm with a young audience really connecting with our brand and products,” Fleuriau said. “The demand is there and is translating to sell-through at retail across the country. The goal from here is to build a solid foundation with the independent retail channel. Expand distribution in key markets that need further development, but also protect the retail partnerships we have in place to further build and grow with them. Knowing these opportunities exist is a big part of what brought me here today.”

Changing of the Guard?

Even with all the shared services, Barrett pointed out areas, such as design, that will remain separate. There won’t, for example, come a day where a Rhythm designer is asked to pump out collections for both brands.

“We complement and we don’t compete,” Barrett said of the internal philosophy that is ever-present across Rusty and Rhythm. “It gives retailers the ability to buy from two brands that are quite different in their own regard. They both have a long-term lens about being in the market for a very extended period of time and remain true to their brand image.”

That sort of head down, long-term thinking has largely ruled Rhythm for the past 20 years. Barrett, who rarely does press and doesn’t belong to industry groups in Australia, has, like the rest of the team, focused on the job. On the drive into the office ahead of his interview with SES, he wasn’t contemplating wins. He was thinking about all of the misses this year and what could have been done better.

“We’ve got a very strong vision for what we’re trying to do and if we just focus on what we’re doing and what we can control, we will do well,” Barrett said.

In Rhythm’s case, the momentum is a long time coming for a group of industry brands that at one time were lumped in the same section of trade show floor space. Call them coastal-inspired or alternative surf brands.

Whichever term, Barrett and team don’t view the next few years as means for plotting out how Rhythm or Rusty end up speeding past the competition.

“That group of us that were knocking at the door, we used to all be positioned close to each other in the trade shows,” Barrett recalled. “We’d all be high fiving each other and encouraging a retailer, ‘Hey, you should go and chat with Mac (Beu) and Dale (Rhodes) at Katin or you should see the crew at Roark or the Tavik guys or go see Banks (Journal). It would be about building up this sector of the industry because we knew we were going to be relevant. No one ever knew we’d be as relevant as we are because of what’s happening at the moment and in the years ahead, but we’re not trying to be better than anyone. We already are who we are.”

Kari Hamanaka can be reached at [email protected]. 

For more images from Rhythm and Rusty: