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paddleEXPO industry faces

SveinRasmussen

While Starboard has been among the world’s leaders in windsuring for decades, it has now

reached the same level in Stand Up Paddling (SUP). Remarkably, Starboard can make this claim
in all market segments: racing, itness, suring, recreational, and inlatable. At the occasion of
the 2013 Paddle Expo show, we met with Starboard owner, Svein Rasmussen, to see his vision
of the market, now and in the years to come.

BG: How long has Starboard been producing boards for windsuring?

SR: After 15 years backpacking on the pro windsuring tour and being lucky
enough to represent Norway in the irst Olympic games of windsuring, it was
time to go to school. I did not know what to study but knew lots about boards,
so 1994 became the lucky year for me to igure out that what I really wanted to
do in life was to continue in the sport of windsuring. I had saved my $10,000
I’d earned as a pro windsurfer and I borrowed a phone/fax line at a small board

producer in Thailand and started to work with old friends with development of
design and technology.

BG: How did you come up with the idea to get into stand up paddling?
My father Arne was visiting from Norway sometime in the late 90s and one day
I saw him out at our little pond called Lake Taco, paddling around on a large

windsurfing board and, strangely enough, standing up. I asked him why he
liked to stand up. He said he liked the view and could see some fish. I took
little notice at the time. Then, some years later we wanted to develop windsurf
wave boards for light winds and I visited Jef Hendersen on Maui to test some
prototypes of oversized long boards. Jef gave me a paddle and asked me to
throw away the rig. It was not easy to be in the waves on a 25» wide board, but
it gave me a glimpse of the future.

Did you right away know the sport would explode or is it still a surprise to O
you?
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When I came back to Thailand, built the irst SUP cruising board and paddled eE
around the lake and along the shorelines, it was obvious to me that standing up ddl
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paddling would be a wonderful and easy way to explore nature. I felt that paddle tne
boarding quite likely would become the most popular water sport, but a lot of Lin
work would have to be done to spread the word and create great gear.
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BG: What did you know about paddling (kayaking/canoeing and o ©
paddlesports at large) beforehand?
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SR: As a kid I used to paddle to the island outside Arendal, Norway, where our
local windsuring club was situated. It was fun, but my back and neck did not like it that much. I also helped Jan Fasting, an old
kayaking friend of mine, to set up production of wooden kayaks in the mid-90s. In a way, windsuring and paddle boarding is pretty
much based on the same DNA.

BG: Do you feel you are also part of the paddlesports community or WE EXPECT THE SPORT TO CONTINUE
do you look at Starboard as a windsuring/suring brand?
GROWING FOR ANOTHER 7-8 YEARS.
SR: I don’t think we see that division. Our vision is about bringing
inspiration and innovation to the world of water and wind.

BG: From a suring-driven market, SUP has now mostly concentrated sales eforts toward the larger public, focusing on
aspects like lake touring, itness, family, and racing. Did you also anticipate that evolution?

SR: Yes, 80% of the future for SUP will be on lakes and in lat water areas. If you move yourself out of the current ‘‘bubble,” you can
see what the majority of people enjoy and you can help create that future by building gear and ad campaigns that supports it all.

BG: You’re fully part of the designing process also. What does that part bring you? Is it fun for you to spend time in the
shaping room, as compared to business meetings and such?

SR: Yes, this is what I like. When I cannot explain to our shaping/design team what I mean, I jump in there myself and go for it. It’s fun
and if my shape ends up being a bit unreined, I can always ask our shaper team to help polish it up. Shaping is not magic, it’s just
trying to materialize your vision in 3D. I do not actually have many business meetings but I write a hundred emails a day to make sure
bits and pieces are taken care of on the service side. I do not have a Skype address as talk too often seems to remain as just that.

BG: You have put efort into developing the whitewater aspect of SUP at Starboard, with a signature board from whitewater
legend Dan Gavere. What is the main goal for Starboard in that ield and where do you see the growth in that segment?

SR: This is a segment where I do not have a great deal of background and we basically trust that Dan is the Da Man! The Stream
board is an extra strong and easy-to-ride board for rivers and parks. I do not know how large this segment is or how it might grow, but
I would love to join Dan on his next river expedition and igure out its potential at the same time. Great question!

BG: Do you see Starboard getting in the kayak manufacturing business as a development scheme at some point?

SR: The only thing I can say is that anything is possible if it sounds like fun. We do not have any plans at the moment other than the

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