What began as a one-man operation is now stocked in more than 400 retailers nationwide
In 2010, fourth-generation Charleston waterman Logan Roberts stood in his Folly Beach attic folding shirts, tagging them with twine, and packing them for delivery. A young fishing guide with a surfer’s sensibility, he’d been splitting his time between running inshore charters, working offshore as a first mate, and manning the counter at Haddrell’s Point Tackle, where he had grown tired of the bulky silhouettes that dominated technical outdoor wear.
“I was a young surfer kid who loved to fish, so I wanted something more formfitting and streamlined, with fewer pockets,” recalls Roberts. “That was my vision: sun protection performance wear that’s a little more streamlined.”
That vision became Marsh Wear, a brand born of pluff mud and tailing redfish. Fifteen years later, Roberts has opened the first brick-and-mortar on King Street, where the decor takes cues from his lineage: a split cane rod from his great-great-grandfather, a vintage Yamaha Big Wheel parked in the front window. A white-tailed buck, a gift from the Marsh Wear store manager, hangs below Roberts’s dad’s surfboard—a tribute to the brand’s split soul: part cast and carve, part wave and woods.
What began as a one-man operation has grown into a national brand stocked in more than 400 retailers across the country. “Some local stores were nice enough to give it a test and bring it in—Haddrell’s Point Tackle, Sewee Outpost, and Southern Drawl Outfitters in Hilton Head,” Roberts says. The company employs nine full-time staff members in Charleston, backed by California-based parent company AFTCO (American Fishing Tackle Company) since 2017, which handles logistics while leaving the brand’s creative DNA untouched.
Marsh Wear’s aesthetic walks a fine line between function and feel—vintage-inspired camo, hoodies in clay and sand tones—offering gear that works just as well on a skiff as it does at a brewery. Launched in 2023, the women’s collection, now 17 percent of online orders, continues to grow under a female design team.The customers reflect that versatility. “We have 18-year-old skateboarders who love our vintage camo and 65-year-old men who wear our fishing shirts for sun protection,” Roberts notes.
In service to the community, the brand hosts the Holy City Tarpon Tournament and the Lady Red Rendezvous, benefiting Captains for Clean Water and Charleston Waterkeeper.
“We’ve always tried to keep things fun and just be who we are,” Roberts says. “We’ll turkey hunt in the morning and take the jon boat to surf an outer sandbar that afternoon.” That’s the Marsh Wear ethos: one of pursuit, not just of fish and fowl, but stories, good times, and community.
