A WREXHAM man who decided to leave the 'rat race', has created one of the top 10 action cameras in the world.

Olfi, based in Eyton, was set up by founder, 43 year-old Carl Long, a few years ago.

Their cameras, proving popular on both a national and international level, are used locally by top Wrexham band Neck Deep, poet Evrah Rose and wood sculptor Simon O'Rourke, to name a few.

And while they are shipped as far away as Australia, customers with a Wrexham postcode can get a 10 percent discount by getting in touch with Olfi directly.

The Leader:

Olfi founder Carl Long

An electrical engineer by trade, Carl entered the action camera industry nine years ago with the HEDCAM range of bullet-shaped cameras which proved popular with horse riders and bikers.

HEDCAMz, the trading name, then developed into Olfi in 2016 when the business adopted a more recognised action camera form factor, which is popular with snowboarders, mountain bikers and general camera users alike.

Carl said: "I worked in various engineer roles over the years, and as a software engineer.

The Leader:

Helen Eastop at Olfi HQ in Wrexham

"HEDCAMz ended up being a retail business in the end but we brought our own cameras out in February 2011 and they proved popular with horseriders and motorbike riders. Then we developed from there"

Carl is supported by Beth Cole, who oversees the marketing and looks after their social media platforms. Beth is also responsible for building and maintaining the website and any graphic design requirements for the business.

Helen Eastop also supports the business by looking after the day-to-day operations, and is the first point of contact for customers looking for advice or technical support.

The Leader:

Olfi marketing manager Beth Cole

Carl said he started the business as he was searching for a better work/life balance.

It enabled him to combine work with a love of extreme sports such as downhill mountain biking, snowboarding and motocross.

The current camera, waterproof to 30 metres, gives the user the ability to capture time lapses, notably long term time lapses - an increasingly popular form of photography - as well as quality full HD videos and photos. Carl added: "You can also use it as a dash-cam as it has its own dash-cam mode.’

The Leader:

Carl Long, founder of Olfi action cameras

"We came up with the name Olfi - which stands for One Life, Film It - when driving down the M56. It was a 'eureka' moment. The acronym, a take on 'One Life, Live It', resonated with me and my circumstances, and seemed like a perfect name for our new range.

"America and Canada made up about 10 per cent of our business at the start but since we've been concentrating on the UK and have started to embrace our welsh roots, it's been pleasing to see that every other order is now Welsh.

"People want to support Welsh businesses.

The Leader:

"The other thing we offer is free accidental damage cover for 12 months with our new black edition camera.

"If you damage it, we'll replace it - guaranteed.

"Our customers send us footage of what they capture and that’s what we use to market the camera. We get sent everything from the sublime to the ridiculous. Recently, a customer of ours sent through a time lapse of his extreme ironing session - it was absolutely hilarious, but also great quality.

“We are only small so we rely on our customers amazing footage to help us.

"They give us good backing, our customers are loyal and when you get repeat business you know you are doing something right.”

www.olficamera.com