About us

Who we are

GLIDE is a global outdoor manufacturer committed to brand excellence and responsible corporate citizenship.

For over a decade, our creed: “Do the Right Thing”, has applied not just to how we interact with our customers but to a deep-seated resolve to conduct business in ways that are good for people and the planet and, ultimately, ensure that our products do no harm to the ecosystems they interact with. Our distinctive-looking SUP models are designed from the inside out with this in mind. Therefore, GLIDE will never be the flashiest/brightest brand in the water. Our boards will however be eco-friendly and best-in-class in every performance category.

Design

From Day 1 everything we do at GLIDE starts on the water. Our founder, Ken Driscoll, despite possessing not a single dance move is ironically fascinated by rhythm – specifically the complex rhythms of water and wind flow. While the rest of humanity binge watches Netflix, Driscoll can be found holed up in his office studying things like Ekman’s Spiral and how this phenomenon results in currents flowing at an angle from the direction of the wind at certain velocity thresholds.

Or the extent to which Thermohaline circulation in large body currents is driven by density gradients. He may not be great at parties - but this former professional kayaker and lifelong waterman is fixated by all elements of his craft. It is this scientific approach that continues to inform and inspire our every design. We even maintain an 11,000 square foot facility in Salt Lake City used by our resident mad scientist and his award-winning design team almost exclusively for R&D.

Culture

We strive to create a professional culture at GLIDE that empowers a humble, happy, and motivated workforce. We foster collaboration and creativity and believe that what makes us different makes us stronger. Building an organization where our stakeholders can thrive is not only good for our employees but for our customers and community at large.

You would be hard-pressed to find a team in any industry more passionately focused on customer satisfaction than the Glide Tribe. And though we represent a mishmash of athletic pursuits (skaters, surfers, snowboarders, ultra-runners, swimmers, yogis) we all share a deep love of paddling and a common desire to make the best SUP boards on the planet.

Backstory

The GLIDE story began in 2008 when professional kayaker, Ken Driscoll, decided it would be rad to paddle over a 50-foot waterfall. Long story short: he broke his back; endured a lengthy recovery; retired from kayaking due to pain he suffered crouching in the hull; became a whitewater paddleboard pioneer; designed an innovative new SUP model optimized for the chaotic forces of Class V rapids and invented a polymer coating (GSS) that rendered these new boards impervious to the thrashings administered by some of Earth’s most extreme conditions.

Shortly thereafter, Driscoll was introduced through a mutual friend to northern CA-based entrepreneurs, Scott Knorp and Ken Apperson. The Silicon Valley natives had recently sold their high-tech company and were actively seeking a new professional adventure. Longtime surfers and paddlers themselves, they were blown away by Driscoll’s inspired 3D renderings that represented a complete rethinking of traditional SUP design. But it was the revolutionary GSS technology that sealed the deal. A partnership was formed that has thrived ever since.

Over a decade later - the company that began in Driscoll’s Salt Lake City garage has blossomed into a global outdoor brand with a vibrant community of customers, employees, partners, and brand ambassadors who share our love of the outdoors and a yearning to paddle the planet.

Thank you for your interest in GLIDE!