I named GILI Sports after a very small island chain near the famous island of Bali, Indonesia.
Since a child, I've always loved the water. When I traveled to Bali, my love for the water was renewed. I learned to Scuba Dive and to Surf during my stay in Bali. Since then, I routinely return and live in Bali nearly half of the year. During my time in Bali, I couldn't ignore the damage we are doing to our world's oceans: we're endangering many aquatic species, destroying numerous reefs, and littering our beaches. It was sad - I saw what I thought was a jelly fish while surfing, but it was just a plastic bag. When I have the privilege of scuba diving, we often have to pass by miles of dead reef on the way to the dive site.
I had to do something, and I wanted something bigger than myself and something that will outlast me. Something that would impact the earth in a positive way.
I founded GILI Sports for two reasons:
To Help Save the World's Oceans and Sea Creatures in a Sustainable way.
To Design & Build the Best Stand Up Paddle Boards possible.
During my travels, I discovered a product I had never seen before: an inflatable paddle board. That was when I had my "aha" moment - what if I could sell paddle boards AND help our oceans at the same time? And that's how GILI Sports was born.
We manufacture high quality paddle boards and sell them direct to you - cutting out the middle men. We sell our products at the same prices as retail (or, sometimes, even lower). When you purchase a GILI Paddle Board, a portion of that board sale goes directly to saving our world's oceans and sea creatures.
Sincerely,
Jay Regan
Founder, GILI Sports
You can help just by purchasing any paddle board from GILI! You do not need to anything else to support any of our missions and charities. There is no additional money or effort required by you. If you wish to do more, you can donate your time or money directly to the charity!
At the end of every season, we add up all of our paddle boards sold. Based on that number, we separate and divide the money between several different ocean charities. We also donate additional time and money organizing beach clean ups and resources to charitable organizations serving our world's oceans and lakes.
You guys raised your hand and voted with your wallets! Our "Save Our Turtles" Paddle Board has been a huge hit. When you buy one of these Paddle Boards, a portion of the proceeds go directly to saving our endangered turtle species like the Hawksbill Turtle and the Green Sea Turtle.
By the way, EVERY paddle board sold by GILI benefits the ocean - not JUST the Save Our Turtles board!
Since you guys were so stoked on saving the turtles, we've got some cool new charitable mission boards coming up!
Check out all of our Paddle Boards - remember EACH board supports our oceans and endangered sea creatures.
When you buy a paddle board from GILI, we donate a portion of your order to one of several charities that support our Oceans, Reefs, and Endangered Sea Creatures. You can feel good knowing that you’re helping create a better earth, and also getting an amazing product. You’ve probably seen the Save Our Turtle logo on the back of our Teal 10’6 Air Boards. With every purchase of this board, we donate to charities that support our endangered turtle species. We’re also committed to local beach and reef clean ups, and are always looking for new charities to work with. We are making every effort to minimize our impact on the environment - even our packaging is made from recycled material. Will you stand with us?
If you know of an Ocean Charity that could use our help, please submit their information through our suggest a charity page.