On May 15, 2008, the company debuted big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton's "Wonderwall" collection with a surfing expo around New York's Statue of Liberty. The collection featured men's clothing themed around surfing, skating, and the outdoors, utilizing the tagline "Every man is equal before the wave". Hamilton grew up in Hawaii with a single mom and not a lot of money, and he stated that he teamed with Steve & Barry's because he understood the pressures and wanted his line to speak to teens who haven't had access to hip clothes because of their economic status.