Fast chat with STORMR Nick Lassor

Recently we had a chance to chat with Nick Lassor THE DUDE in change of StormR gear that many of you have ranted and raved about. We asked him few questions and you can too, by replying to this blog post.

Ok Nick, tell us a little about you and how did you end up at your current position with STormR?

I grew up in Cape May, NJ and ended up getting an internship at Morey’s Piers Amusement Park in Wildwood, NJ after my Jr. year of college. That led to a full time job there in Events and Marketing after I graduated. I spent 3 1/2 years building their digital marketing and social media strategy and running events. As my passion for online marketing grew, I started doing consulting work for various companies in South Jersey. That led to a consulting job with Henderson Sport Group. I assisted them in creating an online strategy for their 3 existing brands (Henderson, Neosport and Hyperflex) and about two months after I finished that up, they we’re launching a new brand, STORMR, and needed someone to take it over. They had a name, a logo and about 1,000 prototype jackets (the black and navy blue ones that you see a lot of guys still wearing) and told me to figure out what to do with them.

Knowing that these would be great around water and in colder climates, I immediately started product testing by having friends and family members that are commercial fishermen, surf casters and charter captains try out the jackets and tell me what they love, hate and what they would change about them. We then broadened the product testing up to the New England area and the surf fishermen immediately started contacting us about how they could purchase them. We opened up some dealers in the North East with the prototype jackets and then launched the full line nationally this past fall.

Henderson Sport Group, the parent company of STORMR, has been manufacturing
neoprene products, mainly wetsuits, for close to 50 years. Under Henderson
Sport Group there are 5 brands, Henderson (Dive), NeoSport (Dive, Paddle
Sports & Triathlon), Hyperflex (Surf), Supreme (Stand Up Paddle) and STORMR.
As you can see, Henderson has been pushing into every market where high
quality neoprene products can be used. The first prototype STORMR jacket,
which wasn’t called a STORMR jacket, was created about 5 years ago. The idea
was that after getting out of the water in a wetsuit and having an
additional layer to throw on over the suit would really cut down on the wind
and make it more bearable. As more and more prototypes were created and
tested, the more people started using them for all different applications.
The fishing community, especially surf fishermen really started picking up
on them. The added warmth, 4-way stretch materials combined with the
additional 5-7lbs of positive buoyancy is huge for the surf guys and any
fishermen.

Our newest products that launched this past fall were not built specifically
for the surf market but more for general cold weather rain gear. Yes, the
benefits are still there for surfcasting but we know that we can improve
upon what we have and create something that is specifically built for the
guys spending long days (and nights) on the beach and in the water. We are
working on a surf top that we believe will far exceed the normal perception
of neoprene surf tops and should be available this coming fall.

Where did you come up with that funky name ?

The STORMR name is based on the Old Norse definition of Storm.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stormr#Old_Norse It has a very Viking/Nordic
like feel. Strong and brave is what we were going for. The actual shield
logo is based on the gale warning flag with the shield around it. Protection
from the wind and water. http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/xf-weat.html

Tell us about the gear surfcasters would be interested in?

It depends on the style of fishing, the Typhoon jacket is great for an additional later when wetsuiting and the STRYKR jacket is great to wear with waders or on the beach/jetty getting wet from spray or rain. Both jackets add about 5-7 pounds of positive buoyancy which is enough to float you alone, but add a wetsuit or our neoprene bibs and you will float with ease.

The Typhoon is better for wetsuiting because you don’t need the internal neoprene cuff and water can pass through the sleeves and bottom easily and not create pockets of water inside the jacket. The added layer will keep you a lot warmer longer than just wearing a wetsuit.

The STRYRKR jacket is better for guys in waders. The internal neoprene cuff will keep water from going up the sleeve. The adjustable hood design is made to create a tight seal around your face and keep water from coming down the top. Both jackets have adjustable waists but we still recommend wearing a wader belt with them.

Our Typhoon Watchcap Beanie is great for in or out of the water use. When in the water, it acts just like a wetsuit hood but much easier to wear and out of the water it is a thin waterproof layer that will keep your head warm and dry.

We have two different thicknesses in neoprene socks, 3mm waterproof and a 1.5mm for layering (not waterproof). The socks are made with a very high end neoprene and have a lot of stretch and comfort unlike traditional neoprene socks.

Our STRYKR and Typhoon gloves are great. They both have great dexterity (more so in the Typhoon glove) but over time braid will wear through the material. I put electrical or duct tape on the index finger to make sure the braid doesn’t tear through the material.

What’s in the pipeline?

2013 is a big year for STORMR. We created a buzz in 2012 and really started establishing a name for ourselves. Two of the biggest questions we received when showing our products were 1. Does this come in camo? and 2. Do you have a dry top?

Well, we are in the process of trying to deliver on both of those questions. We have a waterfowl hunting line launching in September featuring Real Tree Max 4 camo and we’re in the final stages of designing a surf top that could possibly be available at the end of 2013 but most likely the beginning of 2014. The surf top will not be a “dry” top but it will be very close to that. It will be something that is actually comfortable to wear, adds positive buoyancy, stretches and moves with you, keeps you warm and works well with waders or a wetsuit.

Beyond that, we have a ton of concepts in the works along with some products that are more for warmer weather use. I have been going back and forth deciding if we should bring in a wetsuit to the line but I get a different response from every surfcaster I talk to about what wetsuit they like the best. Maybe we’ll have to poll the Surfcaster’s Journal readers to figure out what style, thickness and features that would like to see on a surf fishing specific wetsuit. If you are going to buy a wetsuit make sure it’s a Henderson, NeoSport, Hyperflex or SUPreme until we come out with a STORMR wetsuit..:-)

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