Fifteen years ago today Paul and Rob Forkan's lives fell apart when their parents were killed in the devastating Boxing Day tsunami.
The brothers were still in their teens and had suddenly not only become orphans but also responsible for getting their younger siblings back to Britain safely.
And this Boxing Day their parents, Kevin and Sandra, will not be far from their thoughts.
Paul said: "I sleep later than usual to make the day shorter, I'll play some sport and watch a lot of sport and just try to keep as busy as possible so I don't have to think about it."
In the decade and a half since that tragic day, Rob and Paul have turned the harrowing experience into a force for good and now offer help and hope to young people around the world.
Despite everything they have been through, Rob and Paul pulled together and launched their hugely successful firm, Gandys, with no experience or funding.
Initially selling flip flops, it has now branched out to sell a range of outdoor wear.
But what makes this clothing firm different from any of its rivals is the brothers vow they will donate 10 percent of their profits to building kids campuses around the world.
So far they have opened three dedicated centres in Nepal, Malawi and their first, in Sri Lanka, opened its doors on the tenth anniversary of the tsunami.
Rob and Paul travelled to Nepal to open the latest kids campus themselves to mark the 15th anniversary of their parents' death.
They partnered with Royal Enfield and travelled through the Himalayas on the iconic bikes, something that was hugely important to the brothers.
Paul said: "We saw loads of Royal Enfield's when we were travelling in India and it was such an honour to ride these bikes to the children's campus.
"It was a really amazing experience."
Rob and Paul chose Nepal following the massive earthquake which rocked the country in 2015.
The campus offers specific support for children and has seen classroms rebuilt and lessons in essential skills like maths and English.
But it also offers vital support to victims of trafficking to Nepal and Northern India.
As part of their trip, the Forkans took two young boys from their home town to experience what life was like in remote parts of the world.
Paul said: "We thought it would be cool to do something similar to what our parents did for us."
The tenth anniversary of the tsunami has been the most poignant for Paul.
He said: "That anniversary was the most emotional. We were in Sri Lanka and there were candles all along the beach.
"The whole country had lost someone and it was really sad to see but also amazing.
"It felt amazing when we opened the first project. We knew we could go back to England and things were really getting done.
"It was a nice thing to do for everyone on the island. We lit candles and lanterns were let off into the sky and it was a lovely tribute to what had happened 10 years ago.
"The whole country was at the same point. It was a day of mourning and a day of remembrance."
They've even used their heartbreaking experience to encourage people to think about the real meaning of Christmas and to focus on what's important.
In a light-hearted social media campaign - one with a powerful message - Gandys has proclaimed Christmas Is Cancelled.
Paul explained: "Christmas hasn't been the same for us since we lost our parents and we know we're not the only people who feel like this.
"Instead of spending loads of money on things you don't need think about what you can do to help people."
The brothers have suggested having a cup of tea with someone who's lonely, volunteering at a soup kitchen or buying a present with a purpose.
The Forkan family had spent the four years before that fateful day in 2004 travelling the world but the time was coming for them to return home.
Paul explained: "Our parents booked a holiday through teletext to India back in the day and we went there one Christmas.
"My parents worked really hard, they would go to work and come home late and they weren't really seeing us as much as they, and we, would have liked.
"They thought there was more to life than going to work and getting back late and seeing the kids for an hour.
"They had six children and they were struggling to pay the bills and they just thought 'sod it, let's have a break' and that's what they did."
It was an experience that taught their children about other cultures, as well as how important it was to care for those less fortunate than them.
Paul said: "We went to villages where they had never seen white people, we did a lot of volunteering, we went to the slums and played a lot of cricket.
"We would meet up with other travellers. It was a really great life journey.
"We got to eat in different restaurants and go to different beaches and nature reserves.
"We were learning about nature while we were next to it, we were learning about religion while we were in a temple or a mosque."
Before they were due to return home in early 2005, the Forkans had an idyllic Christmas day on the beach, eating, laughing, playing cricket and football and surfing.
Paul said: "We'd had a lovely Christmas Day. We'd been surfing, playing chess and beach football.
"My sister, Jo, had visited for Christmas but left on Christmas night to travel back to India and then the UK.
"She flew from Colombo first thing on Boxing Day morning and missed the tsunami. She knew nothing about it until she got back to England."
The next morning their world would shatter when the deadliest tsunami in recorded human history decimated Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Across the world, people watched in horror as images of people, buildings and entire communities being wiped away emerged.
It claimed the lives of 230,000 people, including Kevin and Sandra Forkan.
Paul's life was saved by his big brother Rob, who hauled him to safety as the giant wave crashed into the room they were staying in.
It's a day neither of them will forget.
Paul said: "The first thing I remember about that day is my brother, Rob, waking me up and I was telling him to leave me alone - I'm not a morning person.
"The water was coming in and he was going mental. We went to look out of the window and saw the waves.
"We stood on chairs and put our things on chairs to keep them dry.
"Then there was a much bigger wave and we just stood there, not realising what was going on or what was happening.
"Then the wave went out again, you could see there was no sea and it just felt really weird.
"You couldn't hear birds sing and everything had gone silent. It was so quiet.
"And then the big one came storming in. It tore everything out of its way. It was like an oil tanker.
"My brother saved my life. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up and out of the way. I don't know where he found the strength.
"It was ripping roof tiles off and there was a cable next to me, it was buzzing and if he had let go, I would have been electrocuted."
In the cottage in front of their sons' Kevin and Sandra's last act was one of loving sacrifice.
They were sharing with Rob and Paul's younger siblings, Matt and Rosie.
Paul said: "They had lifted them on their shoulders to get them out of the room - they sacrificed their lives for them."
When the wave had subsided, Rob and paul, just 17 and 15, emerged into a ruined world with no sign of their parents or siblings.
Paul said: "We walked out, still in shock, and found my little brother in a tree and then not long afterwards we found our sister with some surfers.
"It was such a relief to find them, Matt has chronic asthma so we were so worried.
"We were all cut up all over and we had no shoes.
"Someone told us our dad had passed but we didn't want to believe them. We didn't want to go to see."
Heartbreakingly, Rob and Paul thought that saw their mum on a bus and chased after it for a mile.
But in their frantic search when the bus finally stopped, she was not on board.
Responsible for their younger siblings and knowing they needed to get them home to the UK, Rob and Paul made their way to Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.
Flights home were arranged at the British Embassy and the family made their way back to Britain.
Paul said: "We flew back to the UK and everything seemed to happened really quickly. We were in shock for at least a year.
"We would tell ourselves that our parents were coming home and we would wake up in the night, thinking we were going to be with them again.
"We were living in my sister's garage and after a year of that, Rob moved out. He was 18 and he went off travelling.
"I did a couple of years at college, training to be a plumber. I started working at B&Q and decided to go travelling again when I was 18.
"I travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, India, New Zealand, Fiji and America and was working in Australia."
In the aftermath of their parents' death Rob and Paul has promised themselves they would one day do something to help other orphans.
So when Rob flew to Australia to surprise his little brother on his 21st birthday and put the idea of the flip flop brand to him, Paul jumped at the chance to launch Gandys.
Paul said: "Rob went to a festival and when he came back he had a really bad hangover and said his 'mouth was as dry as Gandhi's flip flop'.
"My little brother used to get called Gandhi when we were in India because he had glasses.
We thought it would be funny and also something that was really personal to us.
"We used to live in flip flops when we were travelling and they're a universal product that everyone can afford to help solve a universal problem."
All of Gandys products are made from sustainable or recyclable materials.
And the brothers have no plans to slow down with either their business or the children's centres.
After already expanding from flip flops to be a lifestyle and travel brand, the brothers are taking this even further in 2020.
And a fourth children's centre will open early next year in Brazil.
Paul said: "We started this when we were in our 20s and I know we'll still be doing this when we're 80. This is our life forever.
"We believe in getting our projects off the ground, that's what we want to spend our time and money on - not ourselves.
"Our parents instilled this in us. Mum and dad taught us that there's more to life than working.
"Losing them in the tsunami also taught us that there's more to life than material things - it's about doing things and living in the moment.
"You have to live in the moment and enjoy life. You are on the planet for such a short space of time and as long as we leave the planet in a better place than when we turned up, we'll be happy."
- To follow the brothers on Instagram, visit @gandyslondon
- To follow them on Facebook, click facebook.com/GandysLondon .
- To visit, their website, visit GandysLondon.
