Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Kochbarski.
Hi Ariel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Ariel Kochbarski, Founder & CEO of ARIKO, a contemporary surf lifestyle brand that blends modern style with the laid-back essence of California’s coast. Before launching my brand, I built my career as a fashion executive at leading retail and e-commerce companies including Saks Fifth Avenue, Paul Smith, and 11 Honoré. I also founded Of The Momnt, a creative fashion consulting company. I’ve styled fashion and commercial campaigns for talent spanning from Candace Nelson, Chris Hemsworth, Cake Mag, Relevant Skin, DSCENE Magazine to CENTR Fitness and Health-Ade Kombucha.
After relocating from the East Coast to California in 2014, I immersed myself in the state’s vibrant surf culture. My own love for the ocean—spending countless hours in the water and at the beach—became the driving force behind ARIKO’s vision: versatile apparel designed to move seamlessly from surf sessions to everyday life. The collections embody a fusion of comfort, wearability, and style, empowering individuals to express themselves with confidence—whether at the beach, in a work meeting, or out with friends.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing has been smooth; if you only consider the external factors of the economic and sociopolitical environment that has evolved between my college graduation in 2005 to now, that alone, would not allow for anything to be seamless! Most of the shifts in my career happened through force. The 2009 recession and massive layoffs that we experienced in 2010-2011 were my first real setback in income earning and career growth in New York City. I remember questioning whether corporate fashion was for me or if I should shift to something more creative but I was young and determined to make it to the C-suite. I took a small leap of faith in 2016 by starting my fashion consulting company, Of The Momnt, and working with Parisian based fashion trade show, Tranoi, on launching their US shows. That venture wasn’t successful so I was forced to pivot after they pulled back their US effort in less than a year. Again, it felt like it was by force and not my own choice. I knew then that I wanted to get back to working with product and less on the business development side. I started consulting with 11 Honoré (the first dedicated luxury plus size e-commerce site) and became their Buying Director. Shortly thereafter though, we hit the 2020 Pandemic and I experienced my second layoff in my corporate career. Once more, this was by external events and not by my own choice. I was older though and really began to question what I wanted. This led me down the path of styling and being more hands on with clients and products vs. being behind a computer in an office. At the same time, I had more freedom. I had more balance and time for myself. I used it to pursue my love for surfing and its healing ability to get your mind off things… that’s when things really started to shift for me. Those shifts led me to seeing the opportunity to create ARIKO and I began working on that launch in February of 2024.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
ARIKO is a better, surf lifestyle clothing line. ARIKO was created for a gap in the market of better made beach and surf wear. Our clothing is fashion forward, incorporates better practices towards the environment without sacrificing style. This was something that I wanted to wear and I couldn’t find it in the surf shops I started to frequent after a surf session. I wanted to wear clothes that made me feel connected to the ocean in some way but that would work in a more formal setting too. Think less board shorts, bikinis, cheap t-shirts… more quality made styles like denim, cotton shorts, and pigment dyed t-shirts. The ultimate goals of ARIKO are comfortability, wearability, and style. Many of ARIKO’s styles are unisex and can outfit several body types and sizes. We want to be inclusive to all and are adding in XXL to our knitted items this season.
We’re approaching our second year in business officially this February 9th, 2026 and we are now distributed in 15 other retailers worldwide. Some of those are bigger, online stores like Wolf & Badger and Nordstrom.com and others are smaller, specialty boutiques that helped us get our start, such as Shipwrecked Kauai and Kindred Spirits in Austin, TX.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I feel like the biggest risk I took was starting ARIKO. It’s a huge undertaking to create a brand and build it to a recognizable name. Anytime you put yourself and your creations out into the world, you’re on display in a way. You’re wide open. I never know how people will react to what I’m doing or making. I hope they will love it, wear it, talk about it, and wear it more until they destroy it! Wear it to death, so to speak. It makes me immensely happy when we get an order. I look at EVERY order to see who they are, where they came from, how they found us, and more –that’s the positive part of the risk. On the other side, however, is that people may not care for it. They won’t buy it, they will criticize what you are doing or dislike it enough to openly say so. You’re wide open and exposed when you create something and offer it to the public in any way. That’s the greatest risk, in my opinion, to be brave enough to put your creations out into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ariko-la.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arikosurf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arikosurf
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariko-los-angeles
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ARIKOSURF
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@arikolosangeles
