Ayaq Raises €5M: Outdoor Brand Expands with Mike Horn

Ayaq Secures €5M to Conquer Global Outdoor Markets with Mike Horn

A Hot-Air Balloon Hovers Over the Jura as an Extreme Diver Takes the Plunge

In the distance, a hot-air balloon skims the peaks of the Jura Mountains before its reflection shimmers across Lake Saint-Point. The burly frame of extreme diver Jérémy Pellerin emerges from the basket, poised for a 35-meter acrobatic leap. This early autumn thrill marks the launch of the first edition of "Who Wants to Beat the Legends?"—all under the watchful lenses of drones and the smartphones of attending influencers.

Vincent Defrasne, the 2006 Olympic pursuit champion and former biathlete, has gathered thirty friends—athletes, retired champions, and inspiring figures—for this inaugural challenge under his high-end outdoor apparel brand, Ayaq. The star-studded lineup, boasting over four million combined Instagram followers, will share raw footage of canoeing, rock climbing, kitefoiling, and even a near-summer biathlon in the high pastures of the Haut-Doubs, blending trail running with rifle shooting.

Defrasne, France's flagbearer at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, founded Ayaq (named for the Inuit word for "snow on clothing") and has hit the mark with this first "no-frills" event in his stronghold of Les Grangettes—a village of 323 residents perched at 850 meters, home to his company since 2021.

"When things get tough, I tell my team we're climbing Oberhof again—and we just have to grit our teeth," he says.

Adventure Icon Mike Horn Joins the Ride South African explorer Mike Horn made a detour to Les Grangettes for the occasion. The media-savvy adventurer came on board in December 2024 through Cyril Despres—five-time Dakar Rally motorcycle champion, a close ally of Horn's, and now a friend of Defrasne's.

"Vincent sent me gear when I was in Greenland," Horn recalls. "I tested it day and night, saw how it held up, what worked and what didn't, and gave him my feedback." Now a shareholder and Chief Development Officer at Ayaq, Horn brings experience from past collaborations with major brands like Eider and Lafuma. "But Vincent is different—more attentive, sincere, and honest in his approach. He wants Ayaq to embody the right values first: making top-tier clothing, an extension of our skin, before turning it into a business. Starting small lets us build the brand ecologically and technically. We're also driven by sharing our experiences with younger generations in exploration. We speak the same language."

While official revenue figures remain undisclosed, Ayaq's European-made jackets, shorts, pants, down coats, and merino wool base layers are already stocked in over 150 retailers—half in France, with the rest across Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the UK, Japan (as of late), and soon South Korea. "With our modest resources, we're aiming to create a global brand," says one former Hermès executive involved in the project, leveraging luxury industry connections while Defrasne taps into his sports network—not to mention Horn's vast contacts.

200 Down Jackets Donated to Moroccan Orphans Today, Ayaq—which last week announced a €5 million funding round to fuel its growth—outfits 1,500 instructors at the International Ski School (ESI), France's Paralympic ski team, the Val d'Isère Ski School's off-piste guides, and the mountaineering division of Chamonix's National Ski and Mountaineering School. Yet Defrasne hasn't lost sight of his small company's social mission. During a Moroccan trek to test Ayaq gear in the Atlas Mountains, he took the opportunity to donate 200 down jackets to orphans at the Moulay Brahim camp—children still displaced since the 2023 earthquake.