Chouinard Yvon - Let My People Go Surfing The Education of a Reluctant Businessman—Including 10 More Years of Business Unusual

Christmas Island. Bernie Baker

PENGUIN BOOKS

let my people go surfing

Yvon Chouinard is founder and owner of Patagonia, Inc., based in Ventura, California. He began in business by designing, manufacturing, and distributing rock-climbing equipment in the late 1950s. In 1964, he produced his first mail-order catalog, a one-page mimeographed sheet containing advice not to expect fast delivery during climbing season. He built pitons at first, but when he realized the damage they were doing to the rock climbs he loved, he stopped making them, retooled, and started producing and selling chocks, which didnt damage the rocks. Business grew slowly until 1972 when Chouinard added rugby shirts to his catalog and his clothing business took off.

In the late 1980s, Patagonias success was such that Chouinard considered early retirement. However, he decided to continue directing Patagonias course, in part to use the company to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. As part of this goal, Patagonia instituted an Earth Tax, pledging 1 percent of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. In 2001, Chouinard, along with fly fisherman Craig Mathews, started 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales to groups on a list of researched and approved environmental organizations.

Chouinard spends much of his time in the outdoors and continues to help guide Patagonia.

The full range of Chouinard pitonsfrom tiny RURPs to huge bong-bongsenabled climbers to master Yosemites big walls during the 1960s. Glen Denny

For Malinda Pennoyer Chouinard,
my wife and partner for all these good years.

PENGUIN BOOKS

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street

New York, New York 10014

penguin.com

Copyright 2005, 2016 by Yvon Chouinard

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

The permissions listed constitute an extension of this copyright page.

eBook ISBN: 9781101992531

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Chouinard, Yvon, 1938 author.

Title: Let my people go surfing : the education of a reluctant businessman / Yvon Chouinard.

Description: Completely revised and updated. | New York, NY : Penguin Books, [2016]

Identifiers: LCCN 2015050841 | ISBN 9780143109679

Subjects: LCSH: Chouinard, Yvon, 1938 | BusinesspeopleUnited States Biography. | Social responsibility of business.

Classification: LCC HC102.5 .C42 2016 | DDC 658.4/083dc23

Editor: John Dutton

Art Director: Scott Massey

Photo Editor: Jane Sievert

Project Manager: Jennifer Patrick

Production: Rafael Dunn and Natausha Greenblott

Photo Archivists: Karen Bednorz and Sus Corez

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate Internet addresses and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Version_1