Like a first date, this is where we tell you about our past, present and future — a future we’d love for you to be part of. Intrigued? Read more about us below but before you start, sign up for our Db Black membership, full of exclusive drops and limited product offerings. Free to join, free to leave. Are we the only ones that have butterflies right now?
At Db we are travelers. Dreamers. Optimists. We believe that the world will be better tomorrow than it is today. We believe in family. Open architecture. Bridges, not walls. We believe that journeys — in our backyards, across oceans and through outer space — have the power to open our minds and shape our lives. At Db, we exist to create meaningful journeys.
Our Story
Jon Olsson and Truls Brataas had only just met, and on the surface they were very different. Jon was a dashing freeski legend who was riding the early waves of an emerging video platform called Youtube. Truls was a heady entrepreneur who geeked out industrial engineering, space travel and astrophysics.
Despite their differences, the two shared a love for action sports, adventure and product. Truls had just returned from a year roaming the earth, and lamented the lack of premium luggage to carry his gear. After a decade of lugging skis around the world, Jon acutely understood this pain point.
That night, Truls and Jon drew initial product sketches and sparked what would become a wildfire of product-centric innovation. From there, it was a cinematic montage of hustle. Design and redesign. Rum and development (wild ideation). Research and development (practical application). Surveying 150+ athletes, travelers and baggage handlers to ensure they were solving real life problems. Anemic bank accounts. Late nights. Noodles. Until finally, in 2012, Db was born.
Db’s original name was Douchebags. Seriously. It was a community suggestion that we thought was funny and memorable. So we went with it. But the world changed and so did we and today, we’re just Db. But what does Db mean? That’s the fun part! It means whatever you want. Deliciousbagels. Why not? Deepbreathing? Maybe a bit much. Dobetter? Well, that’s the point. Db was born in the community and that’s where it’s going to stay, even as we Dreambigger.
Momentum
Their meticulous dedication to the details and outside the box thinking paid off. The gear was a hit and Db was inundated with orders from dozens of countries, 5-star reviews and design awards. They poured some Champagne, hugged and took a deep breath. They’d done it.
Now it was time to do it again, and again, and again. To innovate on new products and expand their reach in geographies near and far, which is exactly what they’ve done for nearly a decade.
- Truls, Founder and space dreamer
Design
Db design has always started in our core communities — skiers, snowboarders, surfers, cyclists and creatives. We learn their travel challenges and try to solve them through these five pillars.
Lightness. Protection. Versatility. Compression. Ease.
In Db’s infancy we were often asked, “How much can you really change luggage?” We loved this question. It was a difficult but worthy challenge and today we’re proud to have a definitive answer.
“Turns out, you can change it a lot.”
Over the past decade we’ve designed and developed, released and refined three key innovations that have helped Db redefine travel and enable more meaningful journeys.
We’re not only focused on innovating products, but creating them with the materials of tomorrow. This ensures our community receives bags that are responsibly made and built to last.
