How has the ocean and surfing a part of each of your lives growing up and now?

Hanalei was born and raised in one of the most incredible parts of the world to enjoy the ocean: Tahiti. For her, the ocean was a way of life. Surfing, diving, and constantly engaging with incredible natural elements defined her path in life. It became her passion, as a surfer, which took her all around the world, eventually leading her to start her own brand, Abysse, which focuses on the same values she had as a kid.

For me, it’s much the same, but through a California lens. I was lucky to grow up in a surfing family that lived close to the beach. Our family was connected by our time in nature and at the beach and it became a driving passion in our lives. From there our natural camaraderie as brotahers and our passion to surf became the vehicle to experience the world and connect with cultures and people all over the globe.

San Clemente has always been home for me. But after spending the better half of our lives on the road, living out of a suitcase, and chasing waves and world tour events around the world, we are proud to have our home here in San Clemente to raise our family. Through travel, you truly realize the importance of community, connectivity, and support when you have children. It’s the same thing my brothers and I felt growing up here, and we are stoked to pass it forward to our kids.

When did the San Clemente location open?
Our San Clemente storefront opened in June of 2025, although we had a previous location near Del Mar that we outgrew and transitioned in the summer of last year. It is the first time our HQ and storefront are synced, and we are very stoked to see so much support already!

Our team is small – we have our family members all involved. Hanalei and I run the USA operation, and Hanalei’s family runs the Australia part of the operation. A lot of the overall creative direction of the brand and tasks are shared between us. We believe in people knowing who and where their gear comes from and love that all aspects of the business can be touched by our family.

Tanner and Dane [Gudauskas] are both ambassadors for the brand. Naturally, they are stoked to be involved and support our vision for Abysse and are the ultimate ambassadors for the men’s division. They push the limits of our products to make sure they are amazing and are involved in many aspects of our content and imagery creation.

From the Abysse side of things, we offer women’s wetsuits, bikinis, active swimwear, and additional beach garments, men’s wetsuits and boardshorts, and kids’ wetsuits, boardshorts,  rash guards, and active swim gear.

In our San Clemente store, we offer a curated collection of brands that complement Abysse. The largest collaboration is with our long-time partner, Channel Island Surfboards. I have ridden for CI Surfboards for 25 years and am a part-owner of the brand. So, for us, it was a perfect partner as we share a lot of the same audience and both stand for premium surf equipment in a very surf-enthusiastic community.

Sustainability is extremely important to us. Since Hanalei’s vision began, she wanted to create products that limit our footprint on Mother Nature and our surrounding environment. All our products are made out of recycled and sustainable materials, along with our packaging being biodegradable and eco-friendly. We have custom-built all our Japanese Yamamoto limestone neoprene with recycled and extra soft lining. All our swimwear and boardshorts are crafted from recycled nylon that has been repurposed from plastic bottles, fishing nets, and other plastic waste.

Additionally, we have a partnership with the CleanHub community. We have partnered with them to take action against ocean-bound plastic pollution. Through plastic credits, we are helping to remove waste from the ocean in at-risk communities before it reaches the sea. Every order we have, we are committed to the removal of plastic from our surrounding waters through their program.

Here in San Clemente, we have an amazing representation with people like Rosy Hodge, Matt Archbold, Tanner and Dane Gudauskas, Finn McGill, Kai Esposito, and many others. We want to always support our community and love that it resonates so much with everyone here.

The future of Abysse looks bright. We continue to work hard to build amazing garments for people to enjoy. With the introduction of the Abysse Watermen’s division in June ‘25 we are full steam ahead on providing all water people access to premium equipment. We are working on a youth surfing event that will likely take place fall of ‘26 for kids under 10 years old. Our goal is to bring back community events that bring people together around the ocean and inspire our next generation to journey into the water while learning to care for it.

ABYSSE: 2110 S El Camino Real, San Clemente