August 12, 2026 ,

10 Years in the UK

Around this time 10 years ago, Chief Smuggler Linny had flown from Manly Beach in Sydney, the birthplace of Smuggling, and landed on the streets of Hoxton in London with one dream: to free the thighs of the Brits.

Initially the business was run from Linny’s spare bedroom. This worked well until he and his wife returned from their honeymoon… safe to say it wasn’t conducive to keeping the romance alive. We graduated to a two bedroom apartment of our own and slowly built our mighty team. 10 years later we’re still in Shoreditch, just down the road and with a few battle scars and war wounds from Brexit, covid and the rest - we’re still cracking on!

Without further ado, here are 10 remarkable moments from a decade of Smuggling in the UK.

Winning Ashes of Ordinary

The first jewel in our crown was beating the Aussies and taking out the Ashes of Ordinary in 2018. We backed this up with the first of our own Search for the UK's Most Ordinary Rig. Hosted by Jim Hamilton and Ryan Wilson and we crowned Matty Birbeck as winner on the day.

Jack Nowell

If there's one person who's been alongside us for the ride, it's Jack Nowell. What started as just swimwear has turned into a genuine friendship with Jack and his family. We've made pairs for Exeter Rugby, for his brand Mustard and we launched a collab collection in 2025 that was an immediate best seller.

No single person has contributed more to this brand than Jack, and it says everything about his character that he donated every cent of the royalties from his pair straight to the Royal Lifesaving in the UK. Absolute legend.

Collabs with Rugby Teams

Turns out rugby players and Budgy Smugglers have a lot in common and we've had support all the way from grassroots teams to the Prem League. Over the years we've had the honour of collaborating with England Rugby, Wales Rugby, Scotland and even making our very own Smuggler 7s team. And it's not just the men - the women's teams have been just as instrumental in flying the flag. England Women's 7s players like Deb Fleming have been huge contributors over the years, and more recently we've had Rugby with Amy carrying the torch.

UK's Most Hated Item of Clothing

Back in 2018 the BBC did us the enormous honour of announcing Budgy Smugglers as the UK's Most Hated Item of Clothing - narrowly beating out leather trousers.

This is an accolade we celebrate every year and something we're very proud of. If you're not first you're last, right?!

Counties Photoshoot and Range

We wanted to do something that celebrated the people who actually wear Budgys around the country, so we put a call out for customers from counties across the UK to come and be part of a photoshoot and range built in their honour.

What followed was one of our favourite projects of the decade - meeting incredible people from every corner of the country, hearing their stories, and putting together a collection that was as much theirs as it was ours.

Other individual collabs:

There's too many to count: Big John, Alfie Barbeary, Schooner Scorer, Dr Becca Salmon, El Mint, Ellis Genge, Eddie Hall, Henry Fraser, James Haskell, Looseheadz and Ross Edgeley.

We've loved bringing these to life.

Stoltman Brothers:

Heading up to Scotland to shoot with the Stoltman Brothers was one of those moments we'll always remember. The World's Strongest Brothers showing us their routine and how Smuggling is a part of their lives up in the Highlands. It also opened our eyes to just how many cold water swim groups had already made us their unofficial uniform - crews like Edinburgh Blue Balls repping Budgys on their daily swims, rain, hail or Scottish sleet. Turns out Smuggling and cold water swimming were made for each other.

Causes Close to Our Hearts

Beyond the photoshoots and the collabs, some of our proudest moments have come from using the brand for something bigger - lending our platform and our pairs to causes, charities and partnerships that matter. It's not always the loudest moment in the highlight reel, but it's often the one we're most proud of.

Seeing YOU in your Smugglers

Honestly, none of this means anything without the community who actually put the Smugglers on. Seeing the photos and videos you tag us in daily brings us so much joy, and our recent Boardshort Buy Back scheme let us swap old boardshorts for new Budgys, one thigh-freeing convert at a time. Every single photo, tag and DM from you lot has made the last 10 years what they've been.

Bournemouth 7s

And of course, no decade of Smuggling would be complete without a mention of Bournemouth 7s - sun, sand, questionable tan lines and an army of Budgy-clad rugby fans making memories on the south coast. A proper highlight, year after year.

Ten years, two apartments, a Brexit, a pandemic and one national "most hated" title later - we're still here in Shoreditch, still cracking on, and still on a mission to free the thighs of the Brits. Here's to the next ten.

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