North Devon born and raised. Surfing the beaches of Saunton, Croyde and Woolacombe is where Ashley honed his skills and created a bond between himself, his board, and the ocean. This was something that he truly loved as a young lad and forged a path for him into a competitive career in longboard events.
Making the top 10 in Europe during what was longboarding's most competitive era and taking numerous event wins including 1 British title and 11 Hotdoggers club titles are among some of the accolades he holds.
Ashley has been fortunate to travel to many places around the globe for both surf trips and contests including, Costa Rica, Philippines, Australia, Bali, Barbados, Maldives, Canaries, Morocco and most of mainland Europe.
"After getting the opportunity of a 'real' job in and around the surf industry my water time decreased rapidly and a path away from the industry working long hours all over the UK meant I had lost touch with surfing and a lot more in my life. Almost 5 years out of the water and in a very dark place I was very lucky to have a strong wife and friends to help pull me out of the mess I was in and get back on track."
"Now I have an amazing little boy and another on his way and I've been back in the water properly for a couple of years working to see where I can get to.
The opportunity to work with a new, grass roots brand like Kosin was a perfect fit in my eyes, both taking a new journey but with the same beliefs that family and friends are what really matters in life and the sea binds us all together."
Ashley Braunton - @ashley braunton
]]>Dom grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He started surfing at the age of 14 and from his first tentative paddle was hooked.
In the years that followed Dom cut his teeth on Victoria’s surf coast and would regularly make the 2 hour journey before or after work to surf (and on weekends) as often as he could… and was lucky enough to call world famous Bells one of his local spots!
At the age of 19 he became obsessed with surf craft design, and after talking incessantly about shaping his own board, was gifted his first blank by a friend for his birthday. And so the love affair began.
Travelling surfing and shaping continued to be an ever present passion through his 20’s whilst he worked in other industries, before moving to Sydney’s northern beaches to pursue a career in board making.
While there he honed his skills thanks to extensive experience working with some of the most renowned craftsman on behalf of the most prestigious shapers in the world.
For decades surf craft design has evolved and many design theories have come and gone. Dom's obsession with design comes from exploring what happens when you apply some of what we know from modern surf craft design, to older design philosophies.
At Kosin we heard of Dom via the Bristol shapers collective, as well as the UK surf show podcast, in which he discusses the anatomy of the surfboard and went on to make the hosts some boards of their own. We got in contact with him, started a general chat about surfing and the industry from his perspective, and that led to asking him if he’d be willing to appear in our launch video and he happily said yes!
Couldn't have wished for a better quote from the dude himself "it was super fun working with Kosin, they are cool chilled guys and I love their brand"
Dom Di Lallo - @origin_surf_co
Ollie grew up in the East Midlands far away from any consistent surfing beaches. As a youngster he always enjoyed sport and competed in swimming at a national level, however, his passion was always surfing, despite only being able to go once or twice a year on family holidays.
Lockdowns in the UK meant that surf coaching was no longer allowed, for the large part, and with no other opportunities for work Ollie decided to start his own business and combine two area’s he’s passionate about - Strength & Conditioning and Surfing. This lead to the creation of the Surf Fit Academy.
The Surf Fit Academy has now been running since September 2020 and is focused on helping surfers improve their, strength, fitness and overall health so they can catch more waves, feel confident in the water and therefore maximise their time surfing.’
Ollie has been involved with us on a personal coaching level for some time now and has been amazing in helping us with our surf fitness and conditioning.
You could call him our resident PT.
Ollie Newton - @surf_fit_academy
Lorne grew up in a quaint village in Cornwall called Calstock surrounded by creativity. Growing up he enjoyed surfing and skateboarding as a youngster often going surfing with his dad on weekends.
Shortly after finishing A levels he did an access course in lens based media at Plymouth College of Art and Design. Passionate about film and music he started a liquid drum and bass night called 'BassFunk' at C103 in Plymouth DJing as part of a duo called 'The Brazillionaires', booking the likes of High Contrast, DJ Marky and playing alongside Andy C.
Lockdown provided space for Lorne to launch his own digital-first production company based in Bristol where he can concentrate on projects closer to home. Under the Wing Productions provides a platform for aspiring filmmakers to learn and grow their craft. An experienced team of digital creatives that are in tune with current social media trends ensuring clients get the most out of their budget in these pressured times.
Kosin approached Lorne with the idea of putting together a brand film. Kosin was still very much in it's early development stages but we had a clear idea about what we wanted to achieve. Lorne loved the idea, and even more so, the fact that it was going to be taking him back to his old stomping grounds so agreed to get on board with us. He was amazing throughout and helped formulate the storyboards. We spent an amazing two days at Gwithian and filmed all over Bristol and Cornwall. The finished product was totally mind blowing.
Lorne Kramer - underthewingproductions.com
Ollie grew up on the south coast in Devon in Totnes. Conveniently located between Dartmoor and Bantham. He always had a love of the outdoors and more specifically the ocean, although he says he was a lot better at surfing at 15 years old than he is now!
After studying Documentary photography in Newport and living in Cardiff he settled in Bristol. He set up his business from a studio just off Gloucester Road in commercial photography some 10 years ago. His work has taken him all around the world on commissions for the likes of Rolls-Royce, Waitrose, Intercontinental and Hilton Hotels.
After re-evaluating life, during the first quiet year for a long while (2020), Oli agreed to get on board with Kosin and was a key part of our epic Cornish film shoot. Oli provided all the awesome still photography from the trip, including some amazing behind the scenes shots. He also nominated himself to be submerged in the ocean, equipped with the underwater housing for his camera equipment, he went above and beyond our expectations to get some awesome surf footage and still shots.