A Little About Us
We haven’t talked much about ourselves before, but we wanted to share a little about the people behind eit swim.
As mentioned in our ABOUT US, eit swim was started by two surfers: a designer with years of experience in apparel and vintage shops, and a visual director who has worked as a fashion and beach lifestyle editor and writer.
We first met at a vintage shop in Tokyo, where one of us was staff and the other a customer. While chatting, we discovered that we both surfed, exchanged contacts, and soon started going to the ocean together. We were close in age and at similar skill levels, so we spent long hours together—laughing, learning, and pushing each other to grow.
At some point, we started wondering if we could create something together that involved the ocean—and that naturally led to launching a swimwear brand. Back in 2018, there were very few domestic swimwear brands in Japan, and we couldn’t find the pieces we truly wanted. If we wanted them, we had to order from overseas. Since we wore swimwear almost every day, it felt only natural to make the swimwear we had been dreaming of ourselves.
Eventually, we both moved closer to the coast, living just five minutes from the beach. Our mornings start with a surf session, followed by meetings on the beach or in our backyards. We also often go on surf trips, brainstorming about the brand in the car and even shooting along the way. Talking through ideas like this always sparks something new, and now, seven years have passed in what feels like no time at all.
People often say, “It takes courage to start a brand with a friend.” But because we think and see things in a similar way, our relationship feels more like sisters than just friends. Running the brand together has never felt like a burden—on the contrary, it’s been a positive experience all along.
The first real challenge came a few years ago when we began running the brand from separate places—Tokyo and California. Meetings that used to happen instantly became online, and the time difference sometimes made communication tricky. Still, we make it a point to talk as much as possible, sharing small insights, daily moments, and even the silly little things. We know that through these conversations, we find understanding, solve problems, and spark ideas.
Even though we each have our roles, we make every decision together—flexibly, but always grounded. Our goal is to create a brand that lets us bring out the best in each other while enjoying the journey.