Dez Fafara of DevilDriver and Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe have more in common than fronting legendary metal bands – they also both love everything about surfing and its laid-back, nature-connected culture. Back in 2014, Fafara was just off a grueling tour when he had the idea to turn his love of the sport and lifestyle into a business venture, and Blythe was on the opposite side of the country just dipping his toes into the water after a lifetime of skateboarding.
Over the next handful of years, the two longtime friends would experience several of the world's best waves together, leading Fafara to ask Blythe on board with his new SunCult apparel line and lifestyle brand. The offer was accepted and now the two metal maniacs have re-launched the surf-punk brand, complete with tee shirts, hats, sweatshirts, board wax, and even made-to-order surf boards in the vein of a sunny beach day but tinged with the darkness of the underground.
"We are equal parts skate and surf," the DevilDriver frontman says, "and are dedicated to the metal/punk rock music lifestyle we live daily — on tour, in the water surfing, or hitting the asphalt on boards!"
The brand won't stop at simply selling clothing and accessories though, they also plan to contribute to the atmosphere that bred their love of surfing. He continues, "We will be doing beach clean ups to give back to the community, as well as a few pop up shops to give buyers the chance to get in on SunCult."
Blythe chimes in, "We wanted to expand it to encompass different aspects of our lifestyle that other people outside of surfing identify with. That means including the darker aesthetics of the metal and punk music we listen to, the classic horror films we watch, and the urban aggression of a skateboard or bike ride through the cities we spend so much time in on tour."
The designs currently up in the webstore do contain some neon elements, but black tees and bold fonts share space along throwbacks to bands like Black Flag in the logos to emphasize the punk and metal affiliation.
The Richmond-based singer continues, "SunCult isn't for the 'beautiful people,' the Gidget-Beach-Blanket-Bingo set; it's for the freaks, misfits, and weirdos who are already on a permanent aggro-vacation with Dracula." Take a look at the full line of products at SunCult.com.
