We are a team of boardsport enthusiasts with a diverse background and we are building our lives around our passions. In our pasts we have seen the boardsport industry from several perspectives and some of us have been working together for years - even before founding KANOA Surfboards - as athletes and coaches, or professionally as developers, engineers, designers or marketing managers. And we fell in love with the dedication everyone put into this project and the opportunities that came with it. It was this journey that brought us together and made us the group of friends and the team that we are today.
KANOA WHO?
PEOPLE BEHIND KANOA
THILO VON OSTERHAUSEN
Basque Country, France
FOUNDER & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- Innovator with a dedication for product design and shaping boards
- Inventor of our patented Honey Roots Technology
- Half engineer, half marketeer, studied at TU Munich, lived in Innsbruck and now calls the Basque Country his home
- Born into boardsports, started windsurfing at 3 years, surfing, skating and snowboarding as a teen
TOBIAS DEGEL
Wiesbaden, Germany
GRAPHIC & PRODUCT DESIGN
- Swiss army knife of design & Party DJ Hardliner
- Enthusiastic idea developer including implementation up to the product
- Mountain lover and climbing enthusiast
- Startup experience (Chezz Matazz and Remount and upcycled skateboards)
- Freelance graphic design since 2013
ANDY JÜGELT
Munich, Germany
MANAGEMENT & STRATEGY
- Our planer, organizer, strategist and main contact for B2B customers
- First surf trip to Portugal in 2001 and surfing Munich's rivers for almost 20 years
- Hooked on digital marketing since his days at the World Snowboard Tour
- Numbers geek with a decade of startup experience
More on LinkedIn
MORITZ BORN
Ericeira, Portugal
MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
- Translates KANOA's product innovations into marketing campaigns
- Keeps the social and online channels fresh and looks after the KANOA team
- Has worked within boardsports since 2010
- Recently moved to sunny portugal to surf as much as possible
More on LinkedIn
FLORIAN WEDOWSKI
Anywhere, Europe
CONTENT, PROCUREMENT, SERVICE
- In charge of content creation, friendly customer service and procurement of our awesome products
- Spent the last 10 years working and living in New Zealand
- Produced 1000+ videos for clients in NZ, Australia and Europe
- Surfing since 12ft tube rider... in my dreams!) and currently travelling around Europe in a ute
More on LinkedIn
MAURICE ROLKA
Innsbruck, Austria
E-COMMERCE & EVENT-MARKETING
- Manages the KANOA webshop and everything that goes with it
- Planning, preparation and execution of all our events, projects and partnerships
- Half organizational talent, half marketing creative, studied in Innsbruck
- First surf trip in 2016 and hooked forever since then
More on LinkedIn
TEAM
A growing selection of team riders and ambassadors who share our vision and live our values in and outside the surfing world. Among them we have talented freesurfers and professional athletes. The KANOA Team spreads our message and their feedback is an essential part to evolve our products and technologies.
WE COLLABORATE...
You never have to look far to find like minded people and no one gets far without the right partners. It is a journey we are on together, we share the same spirit, try to help each other and use synergies where we can. All to get the best surfing equipment to you and try to make the boardsports industry more sustainable.
To do so KANOA is collaborating with selected brands, shapers, manufacturers and some acknowledged research institutes.
Make sure to check out our latest surfboard collection with Polyola Eco Foam.
THE NEW KANOA X POLYOLA SURFBOARD COLLECTION
SHAPERS / BOARD BUILDERS
We have the privilege to be part of a network of some of the most skilled and innovative board builders on this planet and we are thankful to profit from their know-how and experience.
Together we want to improve surfing equipment in all aspects and expand the horizons of durability, performance and sustainability.
LIKE MINDED BRANDS
We are not alone on our journey and we work together with brands, companies and associations that share our vision and follow the same goals. Only by helping each other and using synergies, we will be able to change the world of surfing and actually start to make a difference.
SELECTED UNIVERSITIES
Together with Germany’s leading Universities in composite construction we initiated several governmentally funded research projects to realize our patented Honey Roots Technology.
Thanks to their help, we have access to the latest insights and developments in the sector.
This way we could build simulation models for our technology that speeds up the prototyping phase and ensures we can achieve products at the highest industry standards.
