Deus ex Machina: A Brand Story

Deus ex Machina was born in Sydney, Australia in 2006, as a creative space where folk could get catholic about their stoke. Whether you were a hardened two wheel metal death horse tinkerer, a short shorts singlefin nostalgist or simply enjoyed the rare scent combo of working class garage grease and premium art house coffee beans, the idea was simply to ‘run what you brung’.

Rather than silo our sub-cultures and enthusiasm into tribal ultra orthodoxies of ‘If you dig this, then you have to /can’t dig that…’ the collective vibe was just to be into whatever you’re into.

Turns out a heck of a lot of surfers happen to be into the deafening roar of moto engine.

Bali quickly became the brand’s spiritual home, with the Temple of Enthusiasm in Canggu establishing itself as ground zero for the burgeoning tacos n’ tattoos surf scene. With one of the leading artistic eyes in surfing, Dustin Humphrey behind the venture, the vibe was all about indulging your creativity… drinks, art, boards, parties, bikes, shaping, fashion, fun.

Indonesia provided the setting for the brand’s acclaimed surf movie, I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night where timeless backroad misadventure leads to life-changingly good reef breaks.

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With a broad range of shapers joining the collective and helping fuel a growing desire for more rounded quivers, Deus was reminding surfers that riding waves didn’t have to be clean cut athleticism. To celebrate getting dirty. That tube spit was probably still the best way to help wash volcano dust out your nostrils and windscreen flies off your front teeth.

Today you’ll find flagship Deus stores from Cape Town to Milan, LA to Biarritz, and while the range has expanded from boardshorts and wetsuits to leather biker jackets and much between, the ethos remains the same for a now global brand as was for did a group of few friends kicking back in Sydney fifteen years ago, ‘There’s no right way to do individualism, it’s all the same juice.”