Alder's story begins on the west coast of England more than 50 years ago, with surfer Bob Westlake and a simple problem: in the 1960s, finding the kind of Californian-style surf clothing seen in magazines was anything but easy in Britain.

Bob's answer was to start making his own way in surfwear. His wife Annie began producing boardshorts, and what started as a small family venture soon gathered momentum as demand for proper surfing equipment grew. From those early beginnings came Alder Sportswear — a British surf company built around the Westlakes' own experience of getting into cold Atlantic water and making the equipment they wanted to use themselves.

Polzeath on the Cornish coast was an important part of those early years, while the family business grew from its rural Devon roots into a recognised name in British surfing. Alder went on to become involved in the developing European surf scene, including the Alder Pro-Am contests of the early 1980s, while continuing to develop wetsuits, surfwear and accessories.

That hands-on attitude still runs through Alder today. The company remains based in Devon and continues to develop wetsuits and surf equipment around practical performance, comfort and durability. Its more recent development work has also looked at reducing environmental impact through recycled materials, alternative neoprene components and solvent-free construction methods.

For us at Bob Gnarly Surf, that's what makes Alder worth shouting about: genuine British surf heritage, decades of experience and equipment designed first and foremost to help people get in the water.