Keith Musto arrived in Tokyo as an unlikely choice for the British sailing team at the 1964 Olympic Games. He was considerably too light and too small for the heavy Flying Dutchman boat in which he competed. Keith and his teammate, Tony Morgan, quickly came to the conclusion that their only chance of winning gold was to be fitter than their opponents. So they did the impossible. Daily training, including on Christmas Day, took place. Fellow competitors regarded their training as unsporting, but a new type of sailor was emerging. They were athletes.
Keith Musto recalls the words: “Every year we sailed in Guernsey sweaters and old flannel trousers. You got wet and you accepted it. We were aware that this was a problem that was going to be solved.”
After conquering the sailing world and winning silver in Tokyo (having missed gold by “nanoseconds”), he began manufacturing innovative technical sailing clothing.
A dilapidated Second World War prisoner-of-war hut in Essex marked the beginning of everything. Keith started sailing with Edward Hyde, under the name Musto & Hyde Sails. Keith soon turned his attention to manufacturing technical sailing clothing. He quickly taught himself all the fundamentals of garment making and paid his wife daily with a Mars bar to operate the machines and do all the typing.
In 1980, Keith parted ways with Musto & Hyde. His team quickly developed into the technical manufacturer and wholesaler of the finest sailing equipment available. It was specialised clothing worn and recommended by the most acclaimed sailors in the world. Musto had arrived.
