Hailing from Northern California, Billy McCall has always had a close connection to the natural world. After countless dawn patrol surf sessions and weekend ski trips he finally had an aha moment— synthetic textiles enabled his favorite moments in nature but were antithetical to the preservation of these magical places. Kintra was born in 2018 as a solution to this material paradox, with the sole aim of replacing traditional synthetic yarns with eco-friendly analogues that don't sacrifice on performance.

Prior to Kintra, Mr. McCall worked in materials R&D at 3D printing startup Carbon.

He received a B.S. and M.S. from the University of California at San Diego in nanoengineering, where his research focus was centered around novel polymer composites.