Katin Drops "The Sato Story" (Short Film)

August 14, 2015 2 min read

Katin - The Sato Story from Katin USA on Vimeo

Katin, the original California surf company and lifestyle brand, is excited to announce the official release of the Katin short film "The Sato Story."

In the early 1950s, Nancy and Walter Katin opened a small boat cover business called Kanvas by Katin in Surfside, Calif. After quickly making a name for themselves by creating virtually bulletproof canvas boat covers, local surfers took notice and requested custom pairs of surf trunks made from the same durabile, high-wuality canvas as the boat covers. Word rapidly spread about these nearly indestructible Katin surf trunks, and by the early 1980s, surf wear had officially skyrocketed. Some of the biggest names in surfing, from Shaun Tomson and Peter Townsend to Reno Abillero, Gerry Lopez and even Quicksilver’s Eddie Aikau, sported the iconic Katin surf trunks. After Nancy passed away in 1986, she left the business to her loyal friend and legendary Katin seamstress, Sato Hughes, who had began sewing surf trunks for the Katins by hand in 1961, and still continues crafting custom surf trunks with her own two hands today.

In an effort to strategically capture Sato’s exceptional story, Katin creative director Jason Rodriguez and Katin Explorer Pat R. Notaro III ventured to Sato’s original workspace at the same Kanvas by Katin Surf Shop to passionately capture Sato and her unparalleled crafting of custom canvas surf trunks. Through skillful direction and tactful videography, Rodriguez and Notaro transport viewers into the heart of Hughes’s work through the lens of a camera. Join us and peak closer into Katin’s iconic history to the company's present day triumphs. Katin takes pride in making California's first surf trunk and continues its commitment to making high-quality lifestyle apparel and durable surf trunks.