Our Story

Why choose Gryphon...?

Since its origin Gryphon has been influential in the progression of stick manufacturing. There at the start of the composite era, over years of experience, experimentation and testing we have developed a unique stick lay-up method that creates sticks with unrivalled touch, feel and power to weight ratios.

That knowledge means we know it's about so much more than quoting percentages. It's about arrangement, resin properties and performance, moulding processes and finishing. It's about details and you can't summarise details....

To keep pace with the diverse requirements at the top of the game we have a range of shapes and international level performance sticks that allow for the subtle differences that thinking players want. Our Tour and Taboo series all have the power you want but let you choose the touch and feel characteristics that you need.

Innovation from Gryphon has extended to other areas too - the first brand to introduce stick-carrying backpacks, the brand that invented the hard shell glove, Gryphon has been a leader and standard bearer for years. Flashy photoshoots are not so much our thing, we just get on with making and delivering quality gear for players of all ages and abilities. No fuss, no gimmicks, just the answers you are looking for.

Born in Australia but travelling the world...

Gryphon was founded and still has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia in 1983. Leading up to Gryphon's 'official' launch Australian international player, Peter Haselhurst, had forged a reputation for reinforcing wooden sticks with materials and know-how from his surfing and bio-chemical background to dramatically improve performance. Demand for Peter's services grew, he teamed up with Australian team-mate, Ric Charlesworth, sold a car to generate some working capital and Gryphon was born.

Gryphon was born of a passion and drive to do better, be better. To create something that was 'more'. Not just a stick, but a stick with a soul.

Fast-forward over 30 years and the brand is still pushing the limits in a dynamic global market, proudly displaying its Australian heritage.

The introduction of composite materials in the 90s was revolutionary for the hockey stick industry. As hockey stick manufacturers began to have access to premium composite materials that were used in the aviation industry, the construction of hockey sticks shifted significantly. The use of composite materials and the growing knowledge on the bonding process increased the quality of the final product as well as the overall weight and balance.

Early in 1990 Gryphon engineered its first composite hockey stick made of fibreglass, carbon and resin matrix. Peter Haselhurst designed and made the first Gryphon composite stick while visiting a stick factory in Thailand with the local workers and the machines available. Using his knowledge in physics and materials Peter successfully designed multiple hockey stick lay-ups with the aim to offer a range of hockey sticks to enhance players performance and the quality of the sticks in the market. Since then, Gryphon has worked to continually develop, evolve and engineer the lay-up of our hockey sticks to offer a variety of power characteristics, balance points and feel.

In 2013 after many years of manufacturing solely in China and Vietnam, Gryphon stick manufacturing moved exclusively to Pakistan with a new and exclusive manufacturing facility partnership. The collaboration between the factory and our team has helped to perfect the manufacturing process from the design of the lay-up to the moulding and cosmetics. For the past three decades Gryphon sticks have been unique and unmatched in the hockey arena, the intricacy and specific nature of our stick diagram/lay-up creates unique feel characteristics and unrivalled power.

So from a very localised beginning Gryphon has grown and is now the choice of leading players across the world. A Gryphon player is one who makes their stick the number one priority on their list when selecting who to work with. It won't be everyone, it doesn't have to be, just those who want to make sure their stick gives them that little bit more.