How I Built This with Guy Raz artwork

Nov 24, 2025 · 1h 4m, Episode 785

Hydro Flask: Travis Rosbach. How a thirsty surfer changed the water bottle industry

From How I Built This with Guy Raz

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What if the idea that changes your life… starts with something as ordinary as being thirsty? In 2007, Travis Rosbach walked into a sporting goods store looking for a water bottle—and stumbled onto a problem no one had solved. Plastic, BPA-lined bottles dominated the market. Metal alternatives leaked, dented, or couldn’t keep drinks cold enough. Travis’s solution? A double-walled, vacuum-insulated, stainless steel bottle. His expertise? Non-existent. This is the improbable story of how Hydro Flask was built—from scavenging metal parts in China, to selling bottles at outdoor markets, to getting into Whole Fo...

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