Meet: Vlastimil Kotisa, founder of B2F
I remember that day like it happened yesterday. I'm a month away from my eleventh birthday. Amazed by all the buttons and levers, I set off from Aeroklub Vyškov for my first flight in a small plane. I get this life experience from my parents as an early birthday present. And it is immediately clear to me that I have to start flying!
But my enthusiasm for aviation started much earlier. Actually, for as long as I can remember, airplanes have fascinated me since I was traveling on vacation with my parents. And that also reflected in everything I did as a little boy. My room's library was dominated by airplane books, and a flight simulator was permanently running on the computer.
Immediately after turning 15, i.e. the minimum age when it is possible to start training, I proudly went for my first license. I was accompanied by the wonderful instructors Jiří Unzeitig and Petr Uhlíř during the piloting. When it was done, and I had passed the exams, the question was what to do next.
Business in aviation
Time passed and I gradually collected more pilot licenses. While waiting to reach the final age limit and the associated milestone of piloting commercial aircraft, I first began to look at flying as a business opportunity.
"Just like me, every pilot needs to have a certain number of flying hours to pass the exams," I thought to myself.
So instead of paying to lease the plane, I put together a business plan and bought the plane. It was a Tecnam P2002JF, which I rented out to other pilots in addition to using it for my own needs.
After some time, a second plane was added to the hangar - the Piper Turbo Arrow IV, which is still a matter of my heart to this day. I enjoyed both flying and business, logging hours flown. And after one of my many landings, he ticked off the required number of hours.
Birth of the BORN TO FLY brand
At that time, flying was already my whole life. I almost slept at the airport. I also wanted to express this passion through my dressing style. So I was looking for something to add to my wardrobe. However, our offer mostly consisted of t-shirts of poor quality without authenticity. I had a few favorites in the world, but their high price put me off. So another plan was born.
"I have airplanes, I am a pilot, I will design my own clothes and create a brand that will meet my demands for quality and at the same time be more affordable than foreign brands."
I came up with the name BORN TO FLY, registered the trademark and started designing. At that time, I slowly stopped piloting and concentrated on managing the company's activities and its development.
During one of the other projects, I met my current partner Tomáš Valášek. Word got around and Tomáš joined me on the path to building a world-class quality clothing brand. The first test collection was created X months later. This was followed by the launch of sales. Thanks to our joint efforts, you can be a little closer to the world of airplanes that we all love so much.