Dream of becoming your own
boss? Hayden Cox turned
his lifelong passion into a
successful global business
ByLuke Benedictus
Photography byKristian Taylor-Wood
SUCCESS WITHOUT STRESS
THROUGHOUT HIS ADULT LIFE, Hayden Cox
hasneverhadasinglejobinterview.Infact,
he’s never even written out his CV. That’s
becausesincehewasateenagergrowingup
on Sydney’s north shore, Cox has only ever
worked for himself.
Cox shaped his first surfboard at the age of
- Twenty years later, Haydenshapes is a
global surfboard business that retails in 70
countries and boasts offices and factories in
SydneyandLosAngelesplusamajor
manufacturing plant in Thailand. Renowned for
his technical innovation, Cox has won multiple
awards for his surfboards, while his Hypto
Krypto design has become one of the
best-selling boards in the world.
“I never set out to be an entrepreneur,” the
35-year-oldsays.“Ijustlovedmaking
surfboards and wanted to spend my life doing
something I loved.”
Here are six business lessons that he’s
learned along the way.>
MAY 2017^73