Meet the Founder
J. Keith Derington
Founder & CEO, Twisted Palms Ventures, Inc.
Twisted Palms Ventures grew from a simple conviction: the best business ideas are built where experience, curiosity, and genuine enthusiasm meet.
I founded Twisted Palms Ventures to develop distinctive brands around the industries and communities I understand—combining practical business leadership with a lifelong willingness to explore what comes next.
My professional career has been shaped by sales leadership, business development, customer experience, and building teams that turn ambitious goals into measurable results. That experience taught me that sustainable growth does not come from chasing every opportunity. It comes from identifying the right opportunity, developing it thoughtfully, and following through with discipline.
Outside the corporate world, scuba diving has become an important part of my life and a powerful influence on the direction of Twisted Palms Ventures. As a PADI Divemaster and Instructor Candidate, I have experienced firsthand the connection, confidence, adventure, and sense of responsibility that the diving community inspires.
TPV brings those two sides of my life together: the business leader who believes in sound execution and the diver who is always ready to see what lies beyond the shoreline.
Why Twisted Palms Ventures
Twisted Palms Ventures is not built around a single product or short-term idea. It is the parent company behind a growing collection of focused ventures, each developed with its own audience, identity, and purpose.
Skulls Tees Dive Apparel creates distinctive custom apparel and merchandise for dive shops, resorts, instructors, clubs, conservation organizations, and people who share a genuine connection to the water.
ScubaKeith is the professional platform for my continuing journey in scuba education, diving, travel, and service to the dive community.
Each venture is different, but the philosophy behind them remains the same: build something useful, make it distinctive, and treat every customer relationship as an opportunity to earn long-term trust.
How I Build
Ingenuity
Good ideas rarely arrive completely finished. I believe in looking at familiar problems from a different angle, asking better questions, and finding practical ways to turn possibilities into working solutions.
Adventure
Meaningful growth requires a willingness to move beyond what is comfortable. Adventure, in business and in life, is not recklessness—it is the confidence to explore, learn, and take the next well-considered step.
Prudent Growth
I believe businesses should be built with intention. That means testing ideas, managing resources carefully, learning from real customers, and creating a strong foundation before pursuing the next stage of growth.
Authenticity
The strongest brands know who they are. Every TPV venture should feel honest, distinctive, and connected to the community it serves—not manufactured to follow whatever happens to be popular.
A Personal Commitment
Twisted Palms Ventures is still growing, and I consider that one of its greatest strengths. It allows each venture to be shaped by real experience, direct customer feedback, and relationships developed within the communities we serve.
My commitment is to build carefully, communicate honestly, and create businesses that deliver genuine value—not simply add more noise to the marketplace.
The palm tree represents resilience, adaptability, and the ability to remain grounded while continuing to reach upward. Those are the qualities I want Twisted Palms Ventures—and every brand it builds—to embody.
Let’s Build Something Worth Growing
Whether you represent a dive shop, resort, organization, or business with an idea worth exploring, I welcome the opportunity to connect.
Explore Our Ventures – SkullsTees.com | ScubaKeith.com
Contact Keith