WE ARE THE CRAZY ONES WITH A BIG DREAM. TO BUILD THE BADDEST FISHING PRODUCTS THAT THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
FISHING IS NOT JUST A PASSION FOR US. IT IS PART OF WHO WE ARE. IT IS BAKED INTO EVERY CELL INSIDE OF OUR BODY. WE BELIEVE THAT GETTING OUT TO ‘WHERE THE MAP TURNS BLUE’ AND CHASING BIG FISH IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR LIVES.
This place out on the water “Where the map turns blue.” is a special place where our greatest memories are made, where the strongest friendships are built, and where our grandpa first showed us how to bait a hook to catch brim from the pond. We will never forget the first time we went offshore and we peered over the gunnels on our tippy-toes as the water in the Gulf of Mexico turned from river-green to cobalt blue in a blink of an eye. That same feeling of excitement hits us as hard today as it did back then and we can hear the captain saying “out here in the blue water, it is where the big ones live.”
AFTER YEARS OF WORKING IN CORPORATE AMERICA AND DREAMING ABOUT BEING OUT ON THE WATER, WE DECIDED TO QUIT OUR JOBS AND START A COMPANY BUILT FOR ‘THE CRAZY ONES’ — THE ONES FOR WHOM FISHING IS MORE THAN JUST A PASSION, IT IS PART OF WHO THEY ARE.
THE SORD STORY STARTS IN THE MOST UNLIKELY OF LOCATIONS.
The concrete jungle of New York City does not sound like the place that a world-class fishing products company would get it’s start, but that is exactly what happened. Steven used his passions for fishing to land his first job out of college at an eCommerce startup running the fishing, hunting, and boating departments. The startup that Steven worked for was acquired by a mass-market retailer that tasked him with building a full line of private label fishing products. He quickly realized that his passion was not for building mass-market low-end products and he left the big box retailer with a hint of a dream of starting his own business. Steven stayed in New York City for two more years working in the financial services industry. In the spring of 2019 he hit rock bottom from living in the concrete jungle and from a few major life events — so he decided to leave New York City and chase his dreams of starting a company for people who have that same undeniable passion for saltwater fishing as he did.
Steven spent the next couple of months killing some fish and shaking off the New York City slime. One evening hanging out around the fish cleaning table with some friends the idea for SORD was born and we went to work designing a fillet knife for the people who believed what we believed — that getting offshore was an essential part of our lives. In the summer of 2019 we drew up the logos, the knife designs, and we dove head first into product sourcing. We traveled the world to find the best materials and most importantly, skilled blade smiths that would help us build the best product the world had ever seen.
The first 7” knife was launched in April 2020 to an incredible demand and positive feedback. We used this feedback as a sounding board to launch what you will now know as SORD’s full product line. The team continues to push the boundaries of design to re-imagine world-class fishing products for anglers who are crazy about fishing. You will find the team out on the water during the winter, spring, and fall months chasing all species of pelagics and you can find us set up at the top billfish tournaments in the country during the summer months.