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
MAURICE ROLKA
Innsbruck, Austria
DIGITAL, BUSINESS & MARKETING
- Planer, organizer, strategist and responsible for KANOA’s Business and Marketing
- In charge of the KANOA eCommerce development & digital projects
- Studied in Innsbruck in the middle of the Alps. Already planning his move to the coast to make surfing a part of his everyday life
- Working in the outdoor sports industry since 2017
MORITZ BORN
Ericeira, Portugal
PAID MEDIA & AFFILIATE
- Translates KANOA's product innovations into marketing campaigns
- Manages our network of affiliates
- Has worked within boardsports since 2010
- Recently moved to sunny Portugal to surf as much as possible
FLORIAN WEDOWSKI
Anywhere, Europe
CONTENT, PROCUREMENT, LOGISTICS
- Content Creator for KANOA
- Crafted 1200+ videos for international brands
- Drives logistics, ensuring top-notch product procurement and global delivery
- (Pretends) to always chase the perfect waves across Europe
ZOÉ LEVIT
Biarritz, France
MARKETING, SALES & SOCIAL MEDIA
- Our primary contact for B2B clients
- Looks after the Kanoa Team and keeps our Social Media Channels vibrant
- Half-decent surfer with decent surf media skills
- Started surfing with 14 in Biarritz and has been working on the goal moving to the ocean ever since
STEFFEN WOLLERT
Basque Country, France
ENGINEERING & PRODUCT DEVELOPPEMENT
- creates 3D CAD design
- transfers surfboard shapes from 3D models into the CNC cut blanks
- improves production facilities and sustainability
-
lives in France to build boards and can neither speak French nor be barreled
GABIN VERDET
Bidart, France
MECHANICAL & COMPOSITES ENGINEER
- develops HRT surfboards R&D and production
- challenges HRT boards to the limits
- taking care of the french KANOA communication and marketing
- if not at the office, please find me in the water, probably in Parlementia
JENNIFER FISCHER
Bamberg, Germany or Morocco
CONTENT MARKETING & E-COMMERCE
- keeps our blog content fresh and updated
- in charge of translating the KANOA webshop and adding new cool products
- supports event execution
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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.