About The Owner

Hey, I’m Jordan, and first of all, I feel a little weird writing about myself. But I guess it’s nice to know who you’re buying from, so here we go.

SALTWATER AND SUMMITS

I was fortunate enough to grow up near the ocean and mountains. Weekends were spent surfing (still my favorite), hiking, snowboarding, fishing, and mountain biking. If it involved being outdoors, I was usually all for it.

Legos, Puzzles, and…Product Design?

As a kid, I was big into Legos and puzzles. Turns out, that’s kind of what I’m still doing. Designing products requires creativity, but you have to put all the pieces in the right place, or they won’t work. Running a business is similar; everything has to come together synergistically, and to do that, you need to understand each piece individually.

School and dyslexia

School was tough. My reading was…let’s just say it wasn’t my strong suit. I thought I was just, well, not the brightest. I was often made fun of when I had to read aloud, which made me really dislike school. In high school, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. (That explains a lot, haha.) Around that time, I realized my short lived dreams of becoming a professional surfer were probably a long shot, so I applied to college.

Schools not all bad

I was honestly surprised to be accepted and kind of nervous to go. All I could think about was how I’d be made fun of for my reading and fail miserably. But people were nicer than I expected, and I actually started to do well. I realized I just needed to spend more time studying than everyone, and so I did. My grades started getting good, and it was a confidence booster for sure.

I met Hannah, my best friend and beautiful wife, in college. We got married in 2020, and we have a beautiful baby girl named Rosie. Hannah helps me a little bit with the business, but i’m hoping she joins me at Laek full-time one day; she’s brilliant and way more personable than I could ever be.

New Zealand changed things

Rewind: I studied abroad in New Zealand, and I fell even deeper in love with exploring and traveling. The environment there is intense; it can go from warm sunshine to rain, hail, and snow, all in a single day. It’s a place where having the right gear makes or breaks what you can do and how you can do it. I didn’t know it then, but that experience in NZ was the catalyst for starting Laek.

While I was there, I picked up photography. When I came home, I was inspired to explore our own country and document the beautiful places I visited. Most of the imagery on the site and social media is stuff I’ve shot myself (or been involved in). I’m hoping that continues as the brand grows.

I had problems and you probably do too

Problem: Whenever I went on a trip, I felt like I had to bring so much stuff, and my bags were always overweight. Products seemed so specific that I needed separate gear for every activity. For example, I’d bring a travel backpack on the plane, have a dry bag in my luggage, and have heavy towels, making my bags overweight. The dry bag would make a terrible travel bag, and the travel bag obviously didn't work as a dry bag. I’d use the dry bag for surfing and as a weak hiking/fishing bag. When the time would come to leave, the towels would be even heavier because they took so long to dry that I’d leave them there to avoid paying the overweight fees again.

My Attempt at a Solution

Solution (Laek): Now, I use my Laek dry backpack as my carry-on travel backpack. The removable laptop sleeve and simple design make organizing easy. When I arrive, I pull out my laptop, and my backpack transforms into a waterproof surf/hike/fish companion. Meanwhile, lightweight, fast-drying towels go everywhere with me. The towels have come in handy in more ways than you’d think.

Use, abuse, and have fun

It’s pretty fun getting to use and abuse the things I design, making my designs better with each iteration. I’m always amazed that there’s still so much room for product improvement, even with so many companies making products.

I’ve always felt that getting outside should be fun, no matter the weather and that your gear should complement the experience, not hinder it. Aside from Rosie and Hannah, I’m most proud that we’re building stuff that works for our customer's enjoyment and that we’re able to uphold our values, even when it’s not the easiest thing to do.