It is summer and the sun is shining on the endless beach and your tanned skin. It makes the sea glisten and sparkle and paints the crests of the waves that stretch to the horizon in impressive deep blue colors and contrasts. You take your surfboard and paddle out into the perfect waves. It is one of those days that you will remember for the rest of your life, because it makes you look humbly at the world and nature in all its grace, beauty and peace.

And now imagine you did not see any plastic waste on the beach, and you were not surfing on a plastic surfboard that will eventually become hazardous waste – no, you are gliding over the waves on a wooden surfboard…

Your hands feel the grain of the wood. The water rolls off the deck of your surfboard in large drops. You feel your surfboard gliding smoothly over the water and you become part of the ocean. In this moment, everything makes sense. You live in this moment and you understand that it is a gift, to be allowed to live on our planet and that it is our task to preserve and protect this world with all its natural beauty.

As an oceanographer and climate researcher, I am aware of the necessity of our actions for a sustainable future. As a surfboard shaper, my passion is to bring surfing back to its natural origins.

Sustainable and conscious production is the key to a responsible approach to nature, the sea and its resources, for a clean and peaceful future.

HANDMADE AND SUSTAINABLE

For this reason, with ScharffenbergSURFBOARDS I have dedicated myself to shaping surfboards made exclusively from renewable raw materials such as wood and deliberately avoiding the use of plastic, glass fibers and composite materials.

Environmental compatibility and design come hand in hand with sustainability shaping the entire value chain, from the materials used to your finished surfboard. As a result, ScharffenbergSURFBOARDS has been certified by the Ecoboard project with the GOLD LEVEL standard for the construction of ecological surfboards, which I am very proud of.

HAWAIIAN TRADITION

At ScharffenbergSURFBOARDS, I consciously build surfboards and stand-up paddleboards made of wood in continuation of ancient Hawaiian traditions in the construction of surfboards. Returning to the origins of surfing, nature and in harmony with the sea, I produce customized, modern, lightweight, sustainable and durable surfboards that inspire and slow down the soul and spirit.

Thinking of surfing subconsciously makes us dream of palm beaches, turquoise blue seas with endless waves, the music of the Beach Boys and Duke Kahanamoku, the three-time Olympic swimming champion who is considered the founder of modern surfing and popularized surfing around the globe. Back then, surfboards were made of solid wood, beautiful but unfortunately heavy and cumbersome. It was the young Tom Blake, a friend of Duke’s, who experimented with building hollow surfboards in the 1920s. With his lighter and more maneuverable surfboards, he was another key figure alongside Duke in the development of surfing from a regional Hawaiian into a globally renowned sport. Since 2021, surfing has finally become an Olympic discipline and is inspiring people around the globe.