Five Years at the Helm: Reflecting on the KAS Glow-Up

Can you believe it’s been five years since I officially took over Karratha Adventure Sports?
I’ve spent my entire life inside Adventure Sports, yep KAS is older than I am, it was called Karratha Dive & Sports beck in those days, Karratha Sporting goods before that.

It’s been one wild, sweaty, chaotic, rewarding, completely unforgettable ride, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the past 5 years.

My dad spent 40 years building Karratha Adventure Sports, from a single sea container in the LIA to the massive, iconic superstore on Balmoral Road. I’d been officially working in the business for 13 years, but in 2021, I stepped up as captain of the ship.

…right in the middle of COVID.
Perfect timing, right?

The store was crowded, boiling hot, and stock landed wherever it happened to land. Trying to figure out where to even start organising the place was overwhelming.

I realised very quickly that if I wanted to modernise KAS properly, I had to get creative.
So I:

• Overhauled all the OHS
• Promoted the great staff I had, brought in new amazing staff
• Got external HR to make sure we were doing everything right
• Started planning how to fund the next chapter which was the clean up

Here’s the truth:
Renos don’t pay for themselves.

So we funded every stage the KAS way: with massive carpark sales.

It literally went:

Reno → Carpark Sale → Reno → Carpark Sale → Reno.
On repeat.

Every dollar we made at those sales went straight back into the store. We:

• Replaced the signage
• Repainted the entire building
• Rebuilt the till area
• Renovated the camping department
• Renovated the fish shed
• Moved dive & sports OUT
• Moved dive & sports BACK IN (twice… it’s fine, I’m fine)
• Redid the staff house
• Reworked entire departments from scratch

Slowly, the store transformed from “hot and crowded” to the true adventure hub it was always meant to be.

And I didn’t do any of this alone.

My family, my friends, and my staff family were right there through the chaos, painting walls, moving departments (over and over), lifting, cleaning, sweating through Pilbara heat, and jumping in whenever something needed doing. It really did take a whole village to get the store ship-shape again, and I’m forever grateful for every single person who rolled up their sleeves and helped turn this place around.

Once the renos were finally done, and paid for by what felt like a million carpark sales, we could finally turn our attention to growth.

And wow, did we grow.

We:

• Attended trade shows, expanding our range intelligently
• Increased community engagement by attending local careers expos, launched info nights
• Levelled up our sponsorships & supported heaps of community groups
• And somehow I even ended up in Parliament (ok for one night but I had a good time alright?)

Along the way a brand transformation kicked into gear:

• New logo
• New fishing shirts
• A custom Halco lure
• A brand new website
• The blog
• The podcast
• YouTube
• TikTok
• Revamped Facebook marketing
• Email marketing
• And launching our Legends Club with better pricing and better perks

And the craziest part?

We started winning awards.
Lots of awards.

KAS was no longer just a shop, it was becoming a recognised, respected, community-driven business that people were excited to be part of.

Through all the renos, the events, the community work, the branding, and the business growth… life didn’t stop.

I had a baby.
Raised three kids.
Went on adventures.
Balanced mum-life with business-life (balanced-ish).
And kept showing up, day after day, for this little store with a huge heart.

The KAS crew has grown into something special, a team of genuinely good humans who care about our customers and our community.

And our customers?
You’ve supported us through every stage of this giant overhaul. You’ve trusted us, cheered us on, shopped local, and kept the spirit of KAS alive.

I’m not naturally someone who puts myself out there, but sharing these stories, and showing the heart behind the scenes, is what I want the future of KAS to be. Not just a store, but a community institution.

Five years down.
And honestly?
It feels like we’re only just getting started.

From the bottom of my heart,  and on behalf of the entire KAS Krew,
thank you for being part of our journey.

Here’s to the next five years.
And the five after that.
And the five after that. 💛

-Tash
PS for those always asking- yes the Dad is still around! Just doesnt run the shop anymore.