Dare Jennings

Dare Jennings was born in Griffith, NSW, in 1950.

The quintessential war baby/baby boomer, Dare was raised, along with his writer sister, Kate, on a rice/wheat/sheep irrigation farm. In the sixties he attended Yanco Agricultural High School, a state boarding school for farmers sons. An unremarkable student, Dare distinguished himself by refusing to play rugby league, the only winter sport available to students at the school.

After graduating from Yanko, Dare, arrived at Sydney University where he found himself easily distracted by the dramatic social changes of the time: politics, surf, sex, drugs and rock & roll. Dare eventually dropped out of university in the early 70s and promptly headed for the coast.

After spending a few years doing as little as possible Dare was suddenly visited by a previously absent Protestant work ethic. Teaching himself to screen print Dare was eventually able to produce a selection of t-shirts that celebrated several of his youthful enthusiasms (or 'distractions', as listed above). This paid 'hobby' soon grew into a substantial business that before he knew it was employing way too many people. Dare also realised that most of his customers were involved in the Australian rag trade, a dispassionate and uninspired fraternity that caused him to develop a healthy disrespect for their complete lack of creative integrity.

Working on the principle that if those (rag trade) idiots can do it then I can too, Dare parted company with the contract printing industry in the early 80s and launched a surfwear brand. And so Mambo was born. Around this time Dare also opened Phantom Records, an independent import record store that eventually grew a recording arm that was to release debut records for some of Australia's soon-to-be major bands, including The Sunny Boys and Hoodoo Gurus.

Mambo's growth during the 80s was truly dramatic. Feeding off both Dare's and his friend's enthusiasm for surf, art, music and politics, Mambo quickly etched itself into Australia's consciousness and then just as quickly became recognized around the world for its originality and irreverent sense of humour.

By 2000 Dare had grown weary of the endless management dilemmas associated with managing a company of Mambo's size and decided to accept a generous offer from The Gazal Group, Mambo's publicly owned production company, to sell the label. Unfortunately, 7 years later and Dare is able to speak with considerable authority about the problems that can occur when a large corporation buys a smaller, intuitive and culture-based company.

Dare has always been a keen motorcyclist. During his many trips to Japan he had observed a vibrant motorcycle culture in which young riders in particular were taking hold of essentially classic design elements and expressing them in a completely contemporary manner.


Excited by this discovery, Dare decided to introduce this vibrant new culture to Australian motorcyclists. Deus ex Machina, a Latin phrase meaning 'God is in the machine', is the name he chose for this new venture and with a willing band of fellow enthusiasts Dare and Deus are now doing for motorcycle culture what he previously did for surf culture.

Client Ovations: Fantastic anecdotes. Great story. Fabulous presentation style. Loved it

Strategic Branding Conference 2003