About us

Founded in 1997, the idea of SunGrubbies.com came from my many, many years of trying to protect myself from the sun.  I love outdoor sports.  Back then, sun protection meant hot, thick clothes and frumpy hats.  Broad spectrum sunscreen was still on the horizon as were UV sun protection clothes.  Staying sun safe was not comfortable or attractive :)

My personal motivation for protecting from the sun comes on two fronts.  First of all, both of my parents have had malignant melanoma. For neither was it lethal, but my whole family is constantly on the watch for this deadly skin cancer.  Secondly, and I am embarrassed to admit this, but premature aging is a big worry to me.  I was raised on the beaches of San Diego and I have all the sun damage of a avid sun worshiper.  My friends who were not in the sun as kids look 10 years younger than their actual age…but then, they don’t have death defying stories of body surfing 8 foot waves or the joy of playing beach volleyball all day long as a kid like I do.  I think we all wish the sun protection industry had matured years earlier so we could have enjoyed the great outdoors without all the damage.

The name SunGrubbies came about because we started out being a company focused on kid’s sun protection.  Our thinking was sun, as in sun protection and grubbies, as in comfy clothes.  But as SunGrubbies matured we found our market did too, until today we offer products to both adults and children.

Now we are a very happy “family” of nine; all ladies and one wonderful man (who holds his own with we ladies:)  The Sungrubbies Crew, in my opinion, is the most thoughtful, kind-hearted group of people I have ever met.  Their main concern is the health, happiness and satisfaction of our customers.

A Side Story: One day an elderly gentleman called in to place an order. During the order process he mentioned that he had order a couple of months prior. He said, with a cracking voice, that he had just lost his wife and that the woman who took his order made him feel like she really cared about him. Well, that brought tears to the whole teams eyes. So, that night, one of the ladies went home and found a beautiful card for him. All the crew put in a personal message and the card went out with the order.

In these modern busy times, leisure time is precious and outdoor activities have the added benefit of better health. Our company mission is to keep you safe under the sun by offering stylish, comfortable sun protective clothing and accessories of the highest quality and reliability.

If you would like to hear what others have to say about us, please click here.

Wishing you health and happiness in the great outdoors