North Shore, Inc. was started in 1988-1989 by Mark Brady. Located in Hood River, OR, they started out producing tie die t-shirts and heavy dense windsurfing board deck pads. Soon NSI quickly became a household name in the windsurfing realm. At the end of '91 Mark sold the company to three of his employees, two of whom still run the company.

Under Michael O'Gorman and Brenda Davoren, North Shore launched a line of kayaking accessories. With the foam and fabric products that they manufactured they also started adding other manufacturers products to their expanding distribution/dealer network. NSI has since continued developing and re-engineering many water sports products.