Our Story

Born from a Broken Kite

UPWIND’s Founder, Dimitri, is French and has lived between Paris, Biarritz and Hong Kong.

Surfing and kitesurfing have given the rhythm of his free time for as long as he can remember. Both sports enable him to find peace and creativity in the ocean's magnificence.

In 2023, Dimitri lived in the beautiful lagoon of Kalpitiya in Sri Lanka, which is Asia’s paradise for kitesurfing.

His equipment broke a lot because he was trying new tricks, and he became good friends with Nishanta, the owner of the kite repair shop, who always had a solution for every repair need.

His workshop was a salty, colorful mess, full of broken gear and forgotten sails. That’s when I saw it — piles of incredible, technical, vibrant material, all destined for the landfill.

A spark.

I asked Nishanka if I could take some. He agreed. A few days later, I sketched out my first jacket design, and rushed to a local tailor to bring it to life.

The first prototype

It was far from perfect — rough and raw — but it carried something real.

The idea took off.

I started working with a factory in Colombo to refine the prototype.

I eventually came back to France to work with a design studio to develop the best jacket possible.

Nothing goes to waste

After developing multiple jackets, I realised we had left overs from the jacket, so I decided to make caps.

See our caps

We recently started working with a factory that makes kitesurfing, windsurf, and parachute sails. They have tons of waste and we try to collect their off-cut materials — new fabric that would otherwise be incinerated to transform them into cool bags.

Our bags

The Upwind Logo Explained

The wind, a powerful and invisible force, is at the heart of our pursuits. It is the driving element of kitesurfing, propelling us forward and allowing for the exhilarating experiences we cherish. It is also the element that creates the swell of the waves by brushing the ocean from end to end. Our logo captures this ever-changing dynamic, representing freedom, movement, and the limitless possibilities it offers.

Corals, often called the flowers of the ocean, embody the beauty and impermanence of nature. They are as fragile as snowflakes but possess a mesmerizing beauty, forming underwater landscapes worthy of our imagination, pushing the swell to the surface to create the most beautiful waves in the world.

By incorporating these two motifs of coral and wind into our flower, we honor the complex beauty of the natural world and emphasize the importance of its preservation. They remind us of the powerful forces that shape our world and the delicate balance we strive to maintain. The UPWIND flower is a symbol of our humility towards these fundamental values.