Brand Profile : Bless

05 Mar 2008

Company Name: Bless Apparel
Product Name: “Jesus was a skater”
& “God was a surfer”
Owners Names: Bruno Débauché,
Michael Osborn
Int’l/Euro HQ Address:
4 rue Chapelet
64200 Biarritz
Web: www.blessapparel.com
Number of Employees: 1 freelance sales agent


‘Jesus Was a Skater’? ‘God Was a Surfer’? Bless started in the summer of 2006 as a joke between Bruno Débauché and Michael Osborn, an American surfer from Malibu. The two didn’t have any pretensions or fixed objectives about their T-shirt enterprise that mixed religion with surfing and skating, they simply thought it would be a good laugh and a good way to convey a certain spirit. But the boys got lucky when their T-shirts began to be seen on the backs of TV presenters (Pierre Mathieu and Nicolas Deuil), a few surf and skate pros (Damien & CJ Hobgood, Marc Haziza, Beny Galloway) as well as a quality crew of regulars and now it seems as though the Bless network is the scene to be in at the moment. Interview with Bruno Débauché & Nicolas Serres.



Tell us what the line is all about.
The first collection was launched with the idea of blending religion with skating and surfing. The crazy idea that Jesus was a skater was a total joke but it’s true that with everything he overcame he must have been pretty cool, no? And now, even in the world of skateboarding where people are evolving in a ‘core’ environment, I can totally assure you that religion is present on a daily basis. Hasn’t Hosoi become one of the most visible evangelists in the USA? Taking it from there, I always felt that the T-shirt was an excellent communication tool to convey ideas or messages, good or bad.

As far as the next Bless collection is concerned, we are running a musical theme with a big rock and metal influence. We will continue to develop our two original ideas (God Was A Surfer, Jesus Was A Skater), as well as three or four new ones where we will continue to continue to reveal little known truths about the life of Jesus. We also do licensed T-shirts for Brotherhood and in particular Beachbrother.

Who is on the management team?
Michael Osborn is a Malibu surfer who made his fortune in property. He’s the money man. Nicolas Serres is a freelance sales agent who was previously with Brotherhood after having worked in the surf industry in Australia as a sales agent for Aloha surfboards. Bruno Debauché, skater/ snowboarder/ surfer, created the magazines Ride On (1996 Surf Session
Publications), Blast (1999 Nivéales Publications), created Brotherhood (beachbrother, flavour, spray) in 2002, then Lonesome Star Entertainment in 2005, his audiovisual production company. He also presented and got involved in the Subculture program on French TV channel MCM over a period of six years. You can find him today on Game One, under the command of BOARDKULTUR, and on the mobile phone (SFR TV) with the only French program dealing with daily boardsports news on 3G.

What was the company philosophy when you started?
Michael Osborn wasn’t really interested in the religion stuff because he felt that we were dealing with the wrong side of religion. We have certain values the most important of which are to not get pissed off and to have a good time. We set off on a crazy idea to make T-shirts with messages, which grew on a local level. It got bigger in different distribution networks, in particular the skate/surf shops. We must have created a demand as today we have requests from shops that we categorise as jeans shops or mainstream distribution.

What’s different about your company, both in product and the way the company works? Why should retailers sell your brand?
Because they should want new clients! We use American Apparel blanks and we are amongst the best value on the market. Bless is a mix of styles and genres that are beyond the norm and it leaves the consumer not feeling indifferent about the product. It’s really worldwide. I have placed the brand in lots of different contexts and every time we get good returns.

What is the sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about your products?
There is a moment of peace for people when they are wearing these T-shirts and when you have faith, anything can happen. You don’t really need to believe in God.

What other marketing are you running?
Mainly street marketing developed more with heart and creativity more than cashflow. We have also started to do quite a bit of viral marketing with Lonesome Star. Also, in 2008 there will be a fair few surprises... Be Blessed in 2008!!

What do you foresee for the future of the industry?
On the one hand, we will truly discover the power of the web and e-commerce in a way that will make sales volumes increase as well as change the way in which we sell. But in 10 years, the industry has made itself a bit guarded. I no longer think that it’s such a good business strategy as to identify your company as ‘boardsports’. It’s almost the worst example to put forward in terms of creativity. Board culture is in the process of making a claim but not like it’s being done in the music industry, for example.

What companies in you opinion are doing it right?
Volcom, who has a clear direction, without getting involved in the politics, Rip Curl, who does a great job and manages to stay in touch with their key values. Quiksilver, who keeps on going in spite of continued growth and who leads from the front. I also like Insight because they have an individual identity.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to start a boardsports company?
Get involved from the heart, with guts and totally believe in what you are doing. Don’t get into it just to get rich, especially not in France at the moment. And don’t get de-motivated at the first sign of trouble – that’s what makes the difference.

What does the future hold for your company?
To try to get the pope to wear one of our T-shirts is our challenge for 2008. Invade the shops at the Vatican. Open other sales outlets. Attack the Seppo market, as we know that religious values are even more prevalent there than in France. Right or wrong, I’m not the one to judge. Next collection for March 2008 in the shops.