The Saltwater Edge's Peter Jenkins sits down with Pete Utschig, Phase Gear founder, 22-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, and one of the most committed surf casters we know, to talk about how a passion project funded out of a retirement check became one of the most exciting new apparel brands in surf fishing.
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From the firehouse to the foam line
Pete spent 22 years in the FDNY before retiring to chase fish full-time. "It's probably the most fun career you could have," he says of the job — the kind that rewards close friends, dark humor, and showing up for people on their worst days. There's an old line he loves: a kid tells his father he wants to be a fireman when he grows up. "Son, that's impossible — because you can't be a grown-up at a fire."
For two decades he arranged his schedule around the bite, driving the length of Long Island for a tide. Retirement opened the door to something bigger: a company built specifically for surf casters, by a surf caster.
The Mikko effect: an outsider's eye on heavy, outdated gear
Phase Gear didn't start in a boardroom. It started with Pete's longtime friend and business partner Mikko — a designer, videographer, and former professional baseball player Pete first met in the paintball world. The two traveled together documenting Pete's surf trips, and Mikko, a snowboarder, kept asking the same question: why is all your fishing gear so heavy?
"God, dude, why is all your stuff heavy, bulky, and stiff? I can make this stuff durable, and you could fish twice as long in a product that's not as expensive."
— Mikko, the morning Phase Gear became real
Mikko handed Pete a snowboarding shell and explained the layering philosophy that the snow world figured out decades ago. The lightbulb went on. Surf casters had been carrying around their grandfather's idea of what "durable" looks like — and accepting a wet, exhausted version of themselves as the cost of being out there.
Product-market fit, one wet sleeve at a time
Pete brought Mikko a list of grievances that every surf caster will recognize:
- Hoods that blow off the second the wind picks up.
- Water running down your neck — without a clammy gasket against your throat.
- Sweatshirt cuffs that soak through the instant you release a fish.
- Chest pockets that fill with water because the zippers aren't tight enough.
- Shoulders that bind after a few hundred casts.
Every time, Mikko said the same thing: let me go to the drawing board. Two years of testing and tweaking later, the result is a hood system that actually stays put, a high collar that takes waves to the face, long cuffs that keep your wrists dry on a release, and articulated shoulders built for the cast — all in a shell light enough to fold into its own pocket.
"Everything we've done is for fishermen, with fishermen, coming up with how to fix it and make it better."
— Pete Utschig
Grinding it out on retirement checks
The other half of the Phase Gear story is the part that doesn't show up on the product page. The company is funded out of Pete's pension. When inventory runs low, the math is literal: how much retirement money came in this month, and what can we order with it?
Pete's been pitched by investors. He's turned them down. "For that capital, we really wouldn't make any money in the long run," he says. "It's grind it out — just like fishing. Have an idea, grind it out, make it happen."
The hardest part, in both fishing and building a company, has been the same: focus. Pete admits he was "all over the place" early on, chasing every species and every product idea. The discipline of doing one thing exceptionally well — making the best lightweight technical jacket for surf casters, full stop — is what's started to compound.
What's next
Phase Gear is broadening past the surf without losing its DNA. Boat guys, freshwater anglers, anyone fishing in conditions that punish bad gear — Pete wants Phase to be the answer. Expect new tops, more accessories, and the same field-tested-by-the-founder approach that produced the sEclipse and sElement.
Shop the lineup at The Saltwater Edge
We've stocked Phase Gear from day one. Here's what's in stock right now:
- Phase Gear sEclipse Fishing Top — the flagship ultralight shell
- Phase Gear sElement 2.0 Top — rugged waterproof jacket for harsh conditions
- Phase Moon Hoodie — midweight everyday layer
- Phase Moons T-Shirt
- Phase On Call T-Shirt
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