I’ve always been a great believer that travel provides the ultimate education. My father was in the Merchant Navy which gave him the opportunity to see a bit of the world, and often my mum would travel with him. I consider myself lucky to be brought up by parents who encouraged me to travel and made my first experiences possible. At the age of thirteen I went to Switzerland with a group of Girl Guides and Venture Scouts I’d never met before and later, in my twenties I went interrailing around Europe and spent three summers working on the beautiful Greek Island Samos. My travel experiences also include working on a Kibbutz in Israel, travelling throughout Egypt, a holiday in Brazil, where I ran out of money, and I also lived in a mud hut in rural Zimbabwe with no electricity for two years – all experiences that taught me many valuable and transferrable skills. Since then, I have spent a collective five years living and working in Botswana and Vietnam and travelled to many other countries for holidays and short visits. But I still have a thirst for adventure, the love of waking up to the unexpected and experiencing new and exciting cultures.
gandys - a travel inspired brand
Whilst working in Hanoi I started this website about sustainable living and my adventures in Vietnam. When I began writing articles for my website and researching sustainable brands, one of the first brands I connected with was Gandys – a travel inspired clothing and accessories brand that started out designing and manufacturing flip-flops. Although the brand was on my list to research further, I never ended up featuring them in any of my blogs.
“Tsunami Kids – Our Journey from Survival to Success”
Having just finished reading “Tsunami Kids – Our Journey from Survival to Success”, the brand name Gandy rang a bell, and I connected the dots and realised this was a brand I had initially connected with, but I hadn’t really understood their mission at the time as they seemed more about social enterprise than sustainable clothing. Now I am in awe of what this brand and the two brothers Paul and Rob Forkan, known today as the “Gandy Brothers”, have achieved. I admire them greatly for the work they have and continued to do with their charity “The Gandys Foundation: Orphans for Orphans”.
Rob, Paul and their siblings had an extraordinary upbringing; in 2001 their parents decided to sell their house and they started a new chapter in their lives when they moved to India. In India their lives took on a new direction: they had an unorthodox education – they learnt maths by bartering in the market, they learnt about religion by visiting temples, mosques and churches and through people they made friends with, they learnt history and geography through their travels around the world and they learnt humility through volunteering at a local children’s home for orphans, which allowed them to see the world in all its beauty and also its horror.
“We’d go to children’s homes, play sports with the kids, help them out with cooking, teach them stuff, which was really cool…..we helped with fund-raising for the local charities as well. we learned some really good life skills. our parents gave us this confidence that we could do anything, that nothing was hard to achieve”.
rob forkan
the gandy brothers are inspirational young businessmen
Rob and Paul have been recognized by many as inspirational young businessmen. The brand started at a festival after a weekend of partying, when Rob woke up with, as the popular phrase describes it ‘a mouth like Gandhi’s flip flop’. Having travelled the world in flip flops, a flip flop company seemed like the perfect business idea.
“we went from being two brothers in our bedroom with an idea to create something sustainable and to use fashion as a force for good, to being recognized by Her majesty the queen for our efforts”.
rob forkan
But Gandys has taken Rob and Paul on a journey from survival to success and began with a devastating tragedy; whilst on a family holiday in Sri Lanka Rob and Paul’s lives were forever impacted when a tsunami struck on Boxing Day 2004, killing both their parents and leaving them orphaned. The tsunami was the deadliest on record and devastated Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia killing 230,000 people.
In the wake of the wave, Rob, Paul and siblings Mattie and Rosie embarked on a harrowing 200km journey across the country to discover the fate of their parents.
Injured, distressed, and exhausted Rob, Paul and their two siblings made it to safety and returned to the UK, but it took years to overcome the trauma and the emotional loss of their parents.
The Gandys Foundation: Orphans for Orphans
The brand was started in memory of their parents, who instilled in them a keen interest in travelling, adventure and philanthropic values. Rob and Paul founded Gandys with the goal of using the profits to open up orphanages for underprivileged children across the world. In 2013 Rob and Paul set up The Gandys Foundation: Orphans for Orphans, a registered Charity funded from donations and profits that go towards building campuses and providing education for disadvantaged and underprivileged children. Their first Children’s Home was opened in Sri Lanka on the 10-year anniversary of the tragic event and helped other families and children who had been devastated by the tsunami; subsequently they have built campuses in Brazil, Nepal, Malawi and Mongolia.
Their ultimate goal is to have projects all over the world, on every continent, with people wearing their products and knowing that Gandys is a “brand for good”. Their story has touched many people’s hearts and has even attracted the attention of the Royal’s where they were asked to be young ambassadors for the Princess Diana Awards, which recognizes inspiring young people, and later they were invited to Buckingham palace for the launch of the Queen’s young Leaders program where they shared their journey with the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
awards & collaborations
Along with winning the prestigious WGSN Global Fashion Award for accessories and footwear design, winning the support of high-profile fans including Richard Branson and Jessie J. and collaborations with John Lewis, Liberty and the Rolling Stones. The Gandys brand was also approached by McLaren who loved what the brothers were trying to achieve and wanted to turn the design of the halo top safety feature on its racing cars (which are a similar shape to the y-strap on a flip flop) into flip flops. In return the Gandys brand featured on the halo for the first race of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
Rob and Paul felt this idea was synonymous with their mission as McLaren aimed to save the lives of its drivers with the halo tops, while Gandys aims to save the lives of children by selling flip-flops and using its profits to build children’s homes.
“because it’s called a halo device mclaren and gandys create a halo effect…..my dad was also a mclaren fan – you can’t say no to mclaren“.
rob forkan
The flip flops are made from 100% natural rubber and the soles contain 20% recycled EVA. Today Gandys is well on its way to developing a global footprint, expanding into fashion and travel wear, as well as accessories and bags.
DON’t JUST EXIST iS THE PHILOSOPHY AT GANDYS
After 10 years of travelling the world, 10 years of exploring and 10 years of pushing boundaries Paul and Rob had to put travel on hold during the pandemic.
With freedom and travel a possibility once again – the Gandy brothers believe it’s time to take on the outdoors – bigger and better than ever before. Freedom has never been so appealing. It’s time to celebrate and grab each day, It’s time To Don’t Just Exist. Find out more about the #dontjustexist challenge here.
