Heritage
40 Years of Watersport Engineering and Innovation
Founded in 1976, Mistral's first collections consisted of windsurfing-specific sportswear, hardware and accessories. A holistic water sports lifestyle brand that embraced a love of wind, water and the windsurfing life. Since then, Mistral has survived and thrived, morphing with the ever-evolving nature of watersports.
Origins
Origins
During the early 1970's, Californian windsurfing culture became more and more popular and the need for a European producer became very clear. Due to performance and quality issues of the original Windsurfer®, Mistral was born in 1976 with the vision to produce the world's most advanced windsurfing boards and equipment.
Sportswear and Hardwear
Part of Mistral's appeal since the beginning, has been the inclusion of Mistral Sportswear. This makes it a truly allround lifestyle brand, dressing fans from head to foot on land and on the water. A vision that continues to this day in delivering world class technical and casual wear for all seasons.
The Naish Family
To create the very best designs, Mistral has always worked with the world's best water sports enthusiasts, designers and shapers. Rick Naish was contracted in 1977 as Mistral’s lead designer in Hawaii, while his son Robby would become the brand's ultimate and most famous test pilot. Today this strategy continues in partnering with leading designers and test pilots.
Robby Naish
The younger generation might not know who Robby is, but let us say this about him just to give you an idea of his status. If one would consider the possibility of the existence of a windsurfing God, Robby was without a doubt the closest thing in flesh and blood. In 1977 Robby became part of the Mistral family, he was the principal rider until 2000. For Mistral, it led to near unimaginable brand equity and status.
Pivotal Brand Moments
Mistral Dream Team
Throughout the 1980s, Mistral's iconic windsurfing team dominated the professional windsurfing circuit from Japan to San Francisco. In both male and female divisions across wave sailing, slalom and course racing. A combination of the world's best riders, riding the most advanced board, sail and rig designs, supported by Mistral's commitment to dominance. This created a lasting legacy and standard we continue to aspire to each and every day.
Olympic Years
A legendary moment for the brand came when Mistral's Pan Am race board was chosen as the custom design at the 1982 Pan Am World Cup. This Pan Am board would go into production and become the genesis for boards such as the Equipe series, the Mistral One-Design and, ultimately, the road to being the Olympic board for 1996, 2000 and 2004.
The SUP and Lifestyle Years
Between 2008 and 2022, Mistral was a frontrunner in the stand-up paddle boarding frenzy. And to this day, SUP remains an important category within Mistral. When it comes to Sportswear, license agreements worldwide were established, together with the development of world-class SUP inflatable and hardboards, embracing the mantra of 'Water Life and Living' and the lifestyles associated with beach and ocean life.
The Present and the Foiling Revolution
Today, Mistral is riding a wave of progression and vision under the newly launched strategy ‘People of the Oceans’, with the aim of positioning Mistral as a diverse surf brand, designed for water sports lovers globally. Mistral will remain focused on multi-disciplinary ocean board sports and lifestyle, ranging from foiling to stand-up paddle boarding and from surfing to windsurfing. Always driven by a unique passion and dedication to enhance the lives of those who love to be challenged by the waves.