Tom Johnson grew up in the water. He swam competitively through school, coached squads through his twenties and has completed more ocean swims than he has bothered to count. He is a Bondi local, usually in the water before most people's alarms go off.
He started Salty Johnson because the swimwear market had a blind spot. Brands were often premium without putting enough thought into materials, or sustainable without much personality. The technical case for recycled performance fabric was already strong. REPREVE® is chlorine resistant, durable and made from verified recycled material. Tom wanted to build a genuinely distinctive Australian brand around it.
So he did.
Salty Johnson is built around the belief that living close to the ocean comes with a responsibility to protect it, without compromising on the quality of your kit. The brand also runs Salty Sundays, a free weekly community run, swim and coffee in North Bondi every Sunday at 7am.
On the brand
I wanted to build something that felt like Bondi actually feels: irreverent, physical and not taking itself too seriously, while genuinely caring about the right things. Sustainable swimwear should not be a niche product. It should simply be the best option on the shelf.
Tom Johnson, founder
Connect
- Brand Instagram: @salty.johnson
- Tom on Instagram: @tomljohnson
- Community: Salty Sundays in North Bondi