The Story Behind ShapeShifter Fish and Friends

Hey there! We are Maria and Andrew, co-founders of ShapeShifter Fish and Friends. We're so glad you have decided to pursue this friendship, and hope you will follow us on this journey, because you can never have too many friends. Our story begins in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida...

The Brand
I (Maria) am the creative mind behind the scenes, and have a background in advertising and design. Andrew is the motivator and voice of reason, with a background in science, and tests our local water for Pinellas County. Our perfect blend of art and science tends to generate interesting conversations, inventions, and new business ideas (that Andrew normally reels us back in on!)

The brand ShapeShifter Fish and Friends began from our love of being outdoors, fishing, and many talks about our childhoods and how life is so different now for kids. We wanted to create something that promotes less screen time, more play time, and reiterate how important being outside and getting Vitamin D is (but safely). So we channeled life 25+ years ago, when we played outside for hours and created bonds with one another simply based on having fun. Those friendships we created were the foundation of our youth! There was no judgement, no discretion, and really no bullying. Just friends, being friends.

We had a couple different ideas floating around, but the ShapeShifter Fish and Friends concept was one we kept building momentum off of. It actually started out as a design for a completely different fishing brand (coming one day!) The Trout design was the first on paper, using basic shapes and colors, which tends to be my style of graphic design, and inspired the Redfish, Snook, unreleased Tarpon & Flounder, and 30+ MORE fish and friends designs! Our minimal, yet abstract designs, are created to make you curious, generate creativity, and inspire connection. We are not like any other brand. We want to break through the clutter, and dare you to be different... because friends come in all shapes, colors and sizes!

Our Mission
As children grow, friends are able to help reduce stress and navigate challenging developmental experiences, especially during early teenage years. ShapeShifter Fish and Friends was created to get kids outside, to play more no matter what age, and to inspire friendship to help navigate this thing called "life".

We believe friends come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, and that is why our new youth line was inspired by all the creatures that roam our planet, and the love of outdoors. But being outdoors means concerns for sun protection, and all the germs and bacteria that is unavoidable as we perspire and explore the earth's playground.

Now more than ever, we need to push our kids (and maybe adults too!) to get outside, and take a break from electronics. ShapeShifter Fish and Friends is on a mission to inspire friendship, and make it easy and safe to transition from inside to outside.

The new youth line features an activewear long sleeve shirt, built in with not only UPF50 sun protection, but also antimicrobial technology to prevent bacteria growth. As an added bonus, it stops the fabric from developing odors!

Our Promise
We continue to draw inspiration from the many fish and friends among us, and are excited to expand the ShapeShifter brand in the coming months. We have a fish or friend for EVERYBODY. We appreciate the support from our family, our friends, and will work hard to inspire friendship, and get you outside!