A swimwear brand made to make you look good whilst feeling great - Galago Joe

With Summer fast approaching we met the guys at Swimwear brand Galago Joe to find out more about the brand. In modern day fashion you need to be different from the rest you need to have niche to stand out and thats why I wanted to meet the people behind Galago Joe to see if they had set themselves aside from the rest.

First I wanted to understand why they created the brand, everyone has a story and I wanted to hear their's. So I asked the founder Gareth Wimble, 'As with many start-ups, Galago Joe was born out of frustration. Ahead of a summer holiday in 2017, I was looking for a pair of good quality swim shorts that supported animals, but didn't cost a fortune. I searched everywhere and couldn't find any, and so Galago Joe was born' I was told. So we now know why they started the brand I then wanted to find out when they officially launched and with what kind of designs they launched with, 'Galago Joe officially launched in May 2019 with two exclusive design collections; our Wildlife and Dog print ranges, which include French Bulldogs, Daschunds, Tigers, Rhinos and Gorillas' Is what Mr Wimble told me.

So I had now found out the why and the when, now i wanted to get deeper into the brand to find out is there was layers to the brand to see what this brand stood for. Gareth told me 'Galago Joe is a British family run swimwear brand made to make you look good whilst feeling great. Designed on a buy to give model, it is inspired by animals around the world with each collection injecting colour, excitement and style back into mens swimwear whilst supporting some of our favourite non-profit charities. Available in mini-me (for babies and toddlers) sizes too, each pair of Galago Joe swim shorts brought allow us to donate 10% of profits back to our associated charities'. He then went on to say,'In short, we are committed to great quality and great design whilst showcasing and helping to conserve iconic wildlife of the world.'

I then moved on to speak about the designs behind the brand, I wanted to know the inspiration and the drive behind the fantastic designs, Gareth told me,'I grew up in South Africa, in a family with a love of wildlife and game reserves, and throughout my life, it became more and more evident to me that threats to the animal kingdom were so severe that many species are on the brink of extinction. When creating Galago Joe, named after a small South African mammal, I wanted to ensure that our brand would be valued for its quality,  great design and clear interest in conservation through handing over a portion of each sale to charitable organisations. Each purchaser will have contributed to the salvation of wildlife and we have chosen some of the most iconic and endangered animals, for this cause'. We then spoke about the specific collections they have released in the past and what inspired them, 'The Galago Joe Dog collection was inspired by our French Bulldog, Josephine, who joined our family in 2016 and is an integral part of our lives. Josephine is also the face of Galago Joe, featuring on our labels, poppers and tags. We also love Daschunds and their silhouettes are unmistakable making them a perfect fit for our designs and in particular the small print collection. The Galago Joe Wildlife collection was designed to help endangered species.  Some years ago, Helping Rhinos campaigned in London and I loved their innovative approach to conservation: stepping up on ranger training, including supporting the inspiring lady rangers, the Black Mambas, the use of dog patrols and most importantly, the education of local landowners and communities on the value of wildlife for them. The Gorilla Organisation works on a similar model, drawing in more and more people committed to the work of conservation. The third choice was the equally iconic Tiger. Sadly on a recent trip to IndiaTigers proved elusive, which is why they will proudly feature on our Galago Joe swim shorts' He informed me.

Then finally of course as always I wanted to find out about any upcoming collections they are releasing and Gareth Was pleased to inform us that,' We still have a very exciting year ahead having only recently launched, but in Summer 2020 we will be launching two new collections including endangered sea life which you can see come to life on our instagram page @galagojoe! 

Whats clear to see here is that Galago Joe really does have a niche market, even though the swimwear market is a very tough one to establish yourself as a big brand in, they have set themselves aside from the rest with their unique twist on the designs and the meaning behind the brand. Why not head over to their website now and get yourself set with a pair of swim shorts from Galago Joe.

- Lucy Bell