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innovative, fast and stable hybrid SUP/kayak that we are bringing out
now. What I can say is that we are not interested in making anything
that is motorized.

BG: What is the rough breakdown for Starboard among diferent

SUP styles?
SR: In terms of materials, it would be inlatable 40% and composite
60%. In terms of disciplines, surf would be 20%, racing 20%, and
recreational 60%.

BG: Suring is a pretty exclusive sport—there are already countless
beaches in the US where SUPs are not welcome. In that regard,
at a participant level, paddlesports are way cooler and a lot more
welcoming. Is it the same at the industry level? In other words,
do you exchange with any kayak manufacturers at a show like
PaddleExpo and do you feel welcomed by them?

SR: A very good friend of mine is involved in the kayak industry and we
share a lot. He also introduced me to several of the key manufacturers and distributors. Some of our distributors are from the kayak industry
and we get a great feeling there. I do understand that some people in the kayak world are not totally open-minded towards SUP, but this is
to be expected and something I surely respect and understand. However, as I write this, the current Olympic K1 gold medalist is out paddle
boarding with our Norwegian SUP distributor, and I believe that these sports will ind great cross over potential into the future.

BG: Part of your development plan is also to produce your own

paddles and accessories. Why is that?
PADDLESPORTS LET US HUMAN
SR: The paddle is probably for most people more important than
the board.There are many pretty good boards in the market, but not BEINGS EXPLORE NATURE IN AN
that much research has gone into paddles and shafts. Blade lex is
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WAY.
incredibly important and a light paddle is essential. We must have
built and tested some 180 diferent blade construction and worked
hard with our suppliers to use the correct amount of resin per blade
size. I bet lots of people have been turned of by the sport as some irresponsible SUP school has let their students use stif alloy shaft
paddles with heavy oversized plastic blades. We want people’s paddle experiences to help them to love SUP!

BG: Some SUP giants have sold nearly 30,000 boards this year – how far are you from these numbers at Starboard?

SR: Starboards is more about catering for paddle boarders who are looking for high quality and innovative designs. We always sell via
shops to ensure that riders have on-site backup service into the future. We are not yet at 30,000 units but that number is within our 3
year plan and we expect the sport to continue growing for another 7-8 years .

BG: You invest a lot in racing, and have some of the best racers on team Starboard. Is it an ego-driven strategy to beat the
competition, or do you think that racing raises awareness and that there is also a strong market for high-end boards for a
company like Starboard?

SR: The genetics of Starboard wants to win. Winning motivates our design and marketing team to step it up and be the best we can
be. Lots of learning from our race and wave R&D process can be transferred into other boards, both in terms of shape and technology.
We surely raise awareness for the sport by supporting events and we are the largest contributor to the Stand Up World Tour. We will
hopefully see that these investments pay of into the future.

BG: Many people in the industry think there are too many brands out there, and that many will disappear within 3 to 5 years.

Would you agree with that prediction?
SR: The companies and people who really are interested in doing something great for the sport will keep moving ahead, while the
shortsighted, investor-scheme type of start ups may ind that the market a bit harder than anticipated.

BG: After the boom in inlatables boards, do you see a future for foam boards as entry-level tools as well?

SR: Good question. I am not sure, and need to better understand what inlatable boards look like after four or so years of use. We
need to ind better ways to repair inlatable boards and generally we need to bring the quality level up a few notches. A part of my time
these days goes towards building systems that assure quality and inding better ways to build inlatable boards, as they are not yet as
precisely manufactured as our composite boards.

BG: In what ways does PADDLEexpo help you develop your European sales and reach out to new markets?

SR: Here we meet with our distributor partners to exchange ideas and get motivated to develop next year’s campaigns.

BG: You often refer to right now as being the coolest time to be a part of the SUP industry. Why is that?
SR:
Yes, paddle boarding is a new sport and if you look at what has happened within kite boarding and windsuring over the last
15 years you can see we are still in the very early stages of SUP as a sport. I am very excited to be alive now and to be able to see
this rapid evolution take place. I was the irst Norwegian paddle boarder, the irst paddle boarder in Thailand, and the irst one in
Myanmar—spreading the word is so exciting! SUP events take place all over the world and will continue to spread. Maybe we will
even be in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as an exhibition event.

BG: Celebrities like to be photographed while SUPing these days – are some mega-stars using your boards?

SR: Sting, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Pierce Brosnan, Oracle magnate Larry Ellison, Olympic skier Aksel Lund Svindal, Olympic
sprint kayaking medalist Eirik Veraas Larsen, the Norwegian Royal family, and the list goes on.

BG: What is a good day on the water for you these days?
SR: My best days on the water are every time my 6-year old daughter Mayar wants to go paddle with me.

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