Our Story

It's not every day you can create something new in today's world.  In fact, it's rather hard to do.  Just when you think you have something unique in mind, Google proves you wrong and lists pages of your idea that someone else beat you to.  Not so here at Surf City Paracord, founded by Gregg Pastore.

It all started in 2010, when I caught my first glimpse of a paracord bracelet.  As an avid outdoors man, I was no stranger to paracord and often carried a hank or so when camping or hiking, but weaved into a bracelet and worn on your wrist was something I'd never seen before.  Immediately, I looked up the patterns and made several for myself and was hooked.

Flash forward three years.  My bracelets were well worn and dirty.  It had been three years and I was fresh out of cord.  Upon looking for suppliers online, I discovered the paracord bracelet idea had grown and hundreds of colors of cord exited.  Companies had formed, selling spools in every pattern imaginable, and shops had opened selling bracelets in endless shapes and styles.  The pull was too great and before I knew it, I was hooked.  My home office, where I had my video editing studio became cluttered with paracord and before long, I opened my shop here on etsy.

Competition was tough, I was several years late, and lots of paracord etsy shops were already well established.  I feared paracord was just a fad and already on its last leg.  How could I compete in a flooded market?  As I pondered my dilemma, I practiced my craft and the first of many ideas began taking shape.

All throughout life, I've always been highly creative and constantly looked for ways to bring the ideas in my head to life.  Modeling clay and Legos were my favorite toys, because I could use them to make what I wanted.  Applying my experience with building and sculpting to paracord, I pioneered a new aspect of the craft.  What started as a hobby, was now my new art medium.  

Now I was fully immersed and the ideas were flowing.  First it was snowmen for Christmas, then ninjas and then large scare figurines.  What I had made with Legos, I was now making with nothing but cord used in parachutes.  From there, I became an overnight sensation, gaining a following.  My shop began to thrive as people discovered my unique products.

In early 2014, the M-550 Paracord Grenade was born.  Originally, I had planned on making a large monkey fist with a survival kit inside, but found it difficult to find a spherical case that was sturdy enough for a survival kit.  Months passed and eventually I found what I was looking for just as a new idea took form in my mind.  Instead of simply making a survival kit out of a monkey fist, I designed the kit to look like a hand grenade.  Survival kits were typically boring, but the M-550 changed that.  My grenade kit brought style to the Survival Kit.  

They were a hit.  The M-550 Pro Paracord Grenade was featured in the American Survival Guide's Quarterly Gear Guide, numerous survival blogs and other pages.  Our fame came when our products were featured on the home page of Maxim.com, CNET, Brobible.com, Highconsumption.com and various other tech sites.

Together with my supportive wife, we've turned a simple hobby into a company and moved into our own studio where we hand make every order for each of our loyal customers.  We promise to deliver high quality USA made paracord products that you will simply not find anywhere else.  Much hard work and innovation goes into each item and are very much a part of us.  Each and every day, we work to create new products for our fans.

We appreciate your support and look forward to your business.
Gregg Pastore