Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Mara.
Steve, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a surfer, and about six years ago, I noticed a new trend from the pro surfers… they were holding their GoPro cameras in their mouth, for a POV angle, instead of mounting the cameras to the nose of their surfboard. But there was really no good way to hold the GoPro in their mouth. Some would wrap tape around a plastic mount piece to make it slightly softer, or glue a foam floaty onto the GoPro to bite onto. So I created a comfortable “mouth mount”, using a scuba mouthpiece and a specially designed plastic mount piece.
I paid someone from oDesk or Upwork to make the 3D CAD design, and I had the prototypes 3D printed at the downtown San Diego Library. When I had the design finalized, I found a factory in China to make the injection mold. In just a couple of months, I went from having an idea to having a great first product. From there, I started adding surfing products one at a time. Fins, leashes, board socks, traction pads, etc.
Today the company offers about 15 different surfing accessories, providing everything a surfer needs except the surfboard.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A couple of years ago, I was sued over patent infringement for the mouth mount. Long story and I can’t go into the details, but we settled out of court and I had to stop selling the mouth mounts. Fortunately, at this point in time, I had enough other products to sell and keep the company going. Now, with the Coronavirus pandemic, Amazon isn’t letting us send more inventory to their warehouses for several weeks (to make room for medical supplies and household staples), so hopefully, we don’t run out of stock.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My company sells high-quality surf gear at low prices. A lot of our products are made in the same factories as the “big brands”, but we cut out the middle man and can sell for a cheaper price. I put out a lot of surfing videos on social media, which draws a lot of attention from San Diego surfers. Usually, when I go film a surf spot, someone will come up and say hi, and tell me they watch the videos, which is really nice to hear.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is happiness. I get to run a business based around my favorite activity, surfing. I make enough money to live at the beach, surf every day, go on surf trips, and I love the work that I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: hostevie.com
- Email: steve@hostevie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ho.stevie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoStevie/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HoStevie
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