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Keith steel’s nairobi-based luggage brand began as a safari-tent company 
Inspired by Kenya’s landscape and wildlife, Sandstorm’s collection is embodied in the camel and cowhide Odyssey travel bag.
When Keith Steel was what he calls a “hairy-assed” young soldier, riding camelback patrol in the Arabian Desert, he could have used a rugged travel bag like the kind his company makes today. A leather carry- all might also have served him well in his military work in the Persian Gulf and in the jungles of Brunei, where he trained fierce Gurkha fighters from Nepal. For nearly 20 years, long before he built the luxury luggage brand Sandstorm Kenya, Steel wore the uniform of the British Army. During that time, he traveled in war-scarred regions around the globe, from the sandscapes of the Sinai to the slopes of the Himalayas. It seems another lifetime. Yet in a sense, Steel, 64, has come full circle: The business he runs, which produces sturdy, stylish gear for the intrepid traveler, is based in his birthplace, outside of Nairobi. The company’s materials are local, as are its employees. But Sandstorm’s target customer is, much like Steel, the rough-hewn, sophisticated man of the world. “When I think about a fitting backdrop for our products, I imagine scenes from films like Out of Africa and The English Patient,” Steel says. “I picture dramatic landscapes and characters like Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones.” Like those dashing figures, Steel has spent his career crisscrossing borders. But his deepest roots extend to Kenya, where he grew up in the waning days of World War II. Steel, whose father worked for the British colonial government, learned Swahili as well as English. His Kenyan connection remained strong even when he left for a British boarding school in 1964. After graduating from Sandhurst military academy, Steel, who also speaks Arabic and some Nepali, compiled a military résumé that reads like something drafted by Ian Fleming. At 37, he transferred to the private sector, taking a high-ranking sales position in the whisky industry and settling in Scotland. But his job kept him globe-trotting, and he never lost his call for service overseas. Eager to give back to places he’d seen ravaged, he eventually phased out his whisky work and focused on founding his own conscientious business, delivering aid by way of trade. His first venture involved Nepalese shawls, but when sales flattened, he turned toward the country closest to his heart. “I’d always wanted to reestablish my roots, and with our colonial legacy, there was a debt to be paid in Africa,” says the entrepreneur. “In the end, though, if you want to make a meaningful impact, you have to make money. It’s as simple as that.” Travel gear for the stylish swashbuckler  Supplied by Masai tribesmen from camels raised on Kenyan farms, the leather used to make Sandstorm Kenya luggage (sandstormkenya.com) gives new meaning to “locally made.” Besides traditional lugga... Sturdy workmanship applies to everything in the company’s line, which has broadened to include such luxury items as a champagne cooler and a golf bag. It has also added a women’s collection and another that pays homage to Steel’s own hybrid heritage: bags made from Kenyan leather and Scottish tweed. Sandstorm customers range from safari-goers to celebrities, including Bill Clinton, Scarlett Johansson, and Jack Nicklaus. But Steel, the former soldier, remains on a mission to extend the company’s global reach. “Throughout so much of history, outsiders have exploited Africa’s vast resources for their own purposes,” he says. “We’re trying to do something different: create something by Africans that benefits Africans. In a place of so much unrealized potential, we’re trying to build a distinctive, respected African brand.” Comments (0)
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