FlyCo Streetwear

Ryden William Brogden

1994 – 2022

“It’s more than a lifestyle” was Ryden’s motto for creating FlyCo.

Born and raised in rural Alberta, Ryden Brogden was an avid outdoorsman and self-taught fly fisherman. His vision for FlyCo was to capture his love for fly fishing and incorporate it into trendy everyday street apparel. It was his dream to not only make a living through FlyCo, but to also give back to causes that he cared deeply about – river and fish sustainability and animal rescue shelters.

Ryden spent the last several years of his life exploring and trekking through, at times, very rugged and remote terrain in search of the “perfect water” to spend hours on casting his rod. He would set out with nothing but his tent, fishing rod, fly box, cameras, and his two dogs by his side, Lewis and Rusty. Ryden dedicated years to learning the ins and outs of the rivers that he fished all throughout Alberta and British Columbia some of his favourites in Alberta being the Bow River, the Sheep River, the Old Man River and the Crowsnest River. The love he had for fly fishing also took him all over Vancouver Island for months at a time, including Haida Gwaii, to the Yukon, into the United States, and most recently Italy. It was important to Ryden that he understood and knew about the fish he was catching and how to catch them.

When Ryden was passionate about something, he pursued it relentlessly until he perfected it or felt comfortable with the end result. For example, his favourite species to chase was the Steelhead on Vancouver Island, he would search far and wide like a pioneer after the gold rush for them, and loved the challenge landing them. While he was mastering his fly fishing skills, Ryden soon realized how much sweeter it would be to bring a fish in on a fly that he tied himself and took the art of tying flies, watching YouTube videos, reading books, and gaining insight from other seasoned fly fisherman. Ryden spent hours upon hours tying hundreds of varieties of flies and became known for his large “fly briefcase” which he proudly carried everywhere he went and shared with many. Fly fishing was more than just a hobby for Ryden, as he was profoundly connected to nature.

Ryden was a true “Alberta boy”, he loved his home province and all that it had to offer him, whether it be a beautiful river, or amazing scenery to photograph. As a skilled photographer and videographer Ryden captured everything. One of his favourite things to document were the countless river floats he did either alone, or with family or friends. As a big catch and release guy Ryden would often say “fish are friends, not food” and found great satisfaction in capturing the moment of releasing the fish back into the river. Fly fishing was a means to push Ryden to explore places that many people would never dream of venturing to, with nothing but the stars and the streams to guide him. No mountain was too tall, or forest too thick for Ryden, if there was fish to be caught he would get there. For him, it wasn’t all about the catch, but the journey that got him there and the time spent on the water and in nature.

Sadly, Ryden’s life was taken much too soon leaving a devastating void for his family and friends. Ryden was extremely close to his siblings who were truly his best friends, his mom and dad, and his trusted sidekicks Lewis and Rusty. In order to carry on his legacy, all proceeds of FlyCo will be donated to fish and river sustainability and various animal rescue shelters, both of which were causes Ryden was very passionate about. He loved all critters, and made a point to feed and to care for any animal in need, which included rescuing dogs, cats and even a great grey owl.

Thank you for all of the love and support.
Love, the Brogden family.