From day one
Damian had adventure in his blood.
Hailing from a line of bushmen, Damian grew up in the rugged Snowy Mountains and couldn't wait to travel further afield. As he criss-crossed Australia, he fell in love with the wonders of the endless, sparkling coastline, and developed an abiding respect for the country’s untamed bush and red-dust outback.
Each journey left him hungry for more, and when he married his wife Lyn, the adventure continued and expanded to include travelling across the globe with their three children. From camping at local riverbanks to rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the family experienced the world together.
After 50 years as a pharmacist and a lifetime of travel, Damian turned his mind to creating a range of products that will help people around the world to not only adventure – but adventure better.
And so the Daymo brand was born.
From the first kernel of an idea, thousands of hours of research, innovation and testing have gone into developing a range of unique, quality travel products that are rooted in practical problem-solving and designed to bring ease and comfort to every journey.
We believe the products we’ve developed are best in their class – and we stand by every one of them 100%. We warmly invite you to try our products, send us your stories, your recipes, your tips and yarns and share the journey with us.
Cheers
The Daymo family
The man behind it all
Our Founder
The story starts by casting your mind back to a time and place where things were a little more simple, moved a little more slowly and family was the heart and soul of every day. That’s when Damian Smith was born. “I’m 72 now,” says Damian. “A full six dozen – like three cases of beer.”
Born with the spirit of adventure, Damian spent countless hours exploring the mountains at his doorstep and the wide brown land beyond. “All us kids grew up with a passionate love of the outdoors,” he says. “We love Australia – we love the outback, we love the country and the bush. We love camping, sleeping in swags, rolling around in the red dirt of the outback, and spending time fishing and boating...we love it all.” As a youngster, when Damian wasn’t out adventuring, he was working hard at school.
His efforts opened the door to the University of Sydney, where he earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy and laid the foundation for his brilliant 50-year career. Returning to the highlands after Uni, Damian opened his first pharmacy in the town of Blaxland.
Far from an impersonal chemist in a white coat, Damian became an integral part of the local community. “I had a very personal pharmacy, with a beautiful community in the Blue Mountains,” says Damian.
“I loved working with the customers and interacting with people and their families every day.” As the business blossomed, he partnered with his younger brother and eventually the pair ran a string of pharmacies across Australia. Over the years they gave back to every community they worked in, training countless young pharmacy-school graduates. “The world is going to be a better place because of those smart young graduates,” says Damian. “We’re fortunate to have remained good friends with many of them as they’ve moved through life and become successful with families of their own.”
Even during the peak of his busy career, Damian’s love of adventure never waned. And when he met his wife Lyn, it was the beginning of a whole new chapter. “She's the love of my life. She’s such a special person and she loves to travel. She loves to go places, and share her life with her family and me. I couldn’t be a luckier bloke,” he says.
Together, Damian and Lyn raised three children, who now have children of their own. When the kids were young, Damian and Lyn would take them camping by creeks and riversides, and as they grew so too did their adventures.
They travelled through Australia’s outback and across the world together as a family. “We managed to squeeze in three passports full of overseas travel, and we took the children to most places with us,” says Damian. “We've been so lucky.”
After retiring, Damian relished the ‘Grey Nomad’ lifestyle, and it was during 2020, when he and Lyn had taken to their caravan during COVID times, that the Daymo brand was born. With time on his hands, Damian saw the opportunity to use his lifetime of travel experience to create unique products that make adventures easier, more enjoyable and just… better. And so began the evolution of the Daymo brand.
Now, Daymo’s exceptional quality travel and adventure products are available online and in stores across Australia and the world. And, filling his heart to the brim, Damian has the extraordinary pleasure of working with his children and grandchildren to bring the dream to life. “My main focus is my family, my loved ones, my friends, and the people I can help along the way. I honestly feel like everyone who buys Daymo becomes part of that extended family and shares this journey with us,” Damian says. “And really, we can’t wait to have you on board.”