To dive into the company philosophy right at the beginning: How did a Swiss water sports brand get the name Indiana? As far as I know, you have nothing to do with the US state of Indiana, do you?
No, no, we didn't, but just recently we received another enquiry on Instagram asking where in the USA, in Indiana, our company is based (laughs). But the name of our company has nothing to do with that. We are a Swiss brand from Lake Zurich. The name dates back to the days of skateboards - we were involved in that long before water sports. My former partner, Christof, founder of the skateboard brand Indiana, simply enjoyed typical patterns and symbols from North American history - that's how he came up with the name Indiana. In our current logo, you can also find the feather again: this symbolises closeness to nature and also lightness - not only in life and sport in general, but also the actual weight of our products.
So you came to stand-up paddle boards via skateboards?
Exactly. Ever since I was a child, I've loved any board on which you can stand sideways and slide or roll. Whether on tarmac, water or snow. I originally studied sport as a teacher and therefore came into contact with many other sports, but my fascination for board sports was always untouchable. It took me so far that I became world champion in slalom skateboarding twice in my prime - despite a long break due to a broken vertebrae. But that's another story...
Tell us!
On a Friday the 13th! I broke my vertebrae in a nasty fall. But while snowboarding. That's when I asked myself where I wanted to go in life and how dependent I wanted to be on my body in the future. Instead of becoming a sports teacher with a secure income and lots of holidays, I immersed myself in the event industry and was responsible for a lot of media work. That was a long time before we started with SUPs.
How did the SUPs come about in the end?
During a trip to Hawaii in 2008, at the time when stand-up paddling emerged, I myself fell victim to the paddling virus. After that, the ball started rolling pretty quickly, and in 2010 Christof and I founded Indiana Paddle&Surf under the slogan "From the street to the ocean". Without a plan and without expertise - we just gave it a go. We started with just two models: the Indiana Allround in 10"6' and 11"6'. And, as they say, we really were in the right place at the right time. Stand-up paddling appealed to more and more people. As the trend grew, we were also able to continuously improve our products and expand our range. We made a few mistakes, but due to low production volumes, we hardly took any risks at the beginning and slowly but surely learnt the SUP business from the ground up.
And now you have a huge product range, with over sixty different models, for every application and in almost every size.
Yes, there were two important milestones in our rapid development: firstly, when we entered into inflatable board production with our factory partner in China in 2014. Stand-up paddling became accessible to everyone, cheaper and less tricky - storage and transport became less complicated. We were able to deliver very good quality in the inflatable sector right from the start. This led to a steep upward trend for us. Sales figures increased and our team grew. I have now been to China over twenty times myself to set up quality controls and so on. The direct line to our factory partner is very important to us. The second big milestone was when we took first place in the highly respected Swiss TV programme "Kassensturz": Ten SUPs from well-known manufacturers in the price segment under one thousand francs were tested. And we won. The subsequent demand was incredible. We had to produce more and in some cases have boards flown in to meet customer demand in the summer. We are still living off this seal of approval, i.e. the first place in the "Kassensturz" test, today.
You just mentioned it: China as a production site. How much Switzerland is actually in your products?
Ha! (laughs). Good point. Wait, let me just briefly round off this little insight into the company's history in one sentence: Because Christof and I have been going our separate ways since 2017. He with the skateboards and I, just on the other side of Lake Zurich, in the water sports sector.
Okay, so how much Switzerland ...
So, in terms of development and ideas, there is of course a lot of Switzerland in our products. As far as production is concerned, well, even though we have some of our surfboards produced in Portugal and the hollow SUP carbon raceboards were manufactured by a specialist in Croatia, it has to be said that the majority of our products come from China. However, we also have prototypes and small series, such as the current downwind boards, produced in Latvia. And watch out: We have also been offering "Swiss made" wooden products since the very beginning. These are extremely beautifully crafted wooden paddles from a rudder manufacturer on Lake Zurich or customised wooden boards in frame construction from a Swiss carpenter. Cost: 4500 francs for a board - we offer it - but nobody buys it (laughs). I have the feeling that the sport is too young and too simple for such prices. The over-50s manager is happy to spend 15,000 francs on a carbon racing bike with all its components. That's unimaginable in the SUP world - if you want to be in the game here, the only place to go is the Asian production facility called China. In Europe, for example, there is no one who makes inflatable boards - and I myself am simply too small with my company to risk building a factory.
Let's talk about the development I just mentioned. Despite your large product range, every single one of your products seems very well thought out and mature. Who is behind these technically sophisticated innovations such as the split fin box or the special fin screw called Smart Finbolt?
With the combination of engineer Jan Pütz and shaper Andi Widmann, we have a kind of Daniel Gyro Gearloose in development. They are joined by our trained IT specialist and foil pioneer Gunnar Biniasch, who has a penchant for modelling and, like the other two, has a lot of experience on the water.
Let me tell you, I'm creative myself and I get good ideas on the water from time to time. I always have the incentive to move forward and improve things. We always have to try to be one step ahead - as a small Swiss company, you can't just offer average products, you get lost in marketing. We are constantly trying to come up with new products for the market, such as the transport bag that you can practically pull with your own paddle. That was the idea of a shop, for example. I think the key is to really listen to the customer, the shops and the athletes! In other words, to find out what their real needs and problems are. And then to tinker with the team internally, but also together with the factories - where good people and engineers also work - and to find solutions so that ideas can ultimately be realised. That's one of the reasons for my many visits to China.
Where do you currently see your most important task as Managing Director?
I am not the one who closes the bag in the end, but the conductor of the entire orchestra. I need people in all areas who have mastered their instruments to perfection. Then I make sure that these people play in the right place at the right time. The most important thing, however, is that as managing director I always make sure that the atmosphere in the orchestra is good (laughs).
And who approves the products before they go into production? It seems like you have a huge test team.
Our development team conducts its own tests and receives a huge amount of input from our many brand ambassadors, who are spread almost all over the world. It is important to test in different conditions - on Fuerteventura and Portugal in salt water, on the Swiss lakes in fresh water. Here, too, we have a large orchestra that I conduct - we all have to play together and be in agreement at the end before we launch something on the market.
You just mentioned it: Fuerteventura and Portugal. You also offer SUPs for the waves. As a Swiss company, how does the connection come about?
Yes, it's true, Switzerland is very poorly positioned in terms of waves (laughs). Although we do have river waves, a wave pool and boats for wakesurfing (laughs). Well, the Swiss have the opportunity to travel a lot, to the world's oceans. I travelled to Costa Rica after my studies and have been hooked on surfing ever since. We've had surfboards in our programme for a long time because it simply interests us. And that's also a big part of our philosophy as a brand: we build and offer boards that interest and inspire us and, above all, that we need ourselves. That includes surfing and SUP surfing.
As many Swiss people surf and also have the necessary small change to go on holiday to the best waves in the world, we have built up a small customer base in the wave segment. However, the total freak abroad naturally buys from the usual international surfboard brands and not from us on Lake Zurich. I'd say this segment is more of a passion or hobby than a sales driver. To put it bluntly: if we were run by a man in a suit and tie at his desk, the wave division would be killed off faster than I can look (laughs).
You also develop products for various other water sports such as windsurfing, wingfoiling and surfing. Does the development within the water sports merge and synergies arise, or do you look at everything separately?
No, it all comes together and overlaps. There are definitely synergies everywhere. Our shaper Andi Widmann has been building boards for over 35 years - certain principles and physical characteristics simply remain the same when a board cuts through the water, regardless of the sport. What counts is understanding, expertise and experience. In board sports, we have experience from the heart to the fingertips and we can transfer this to all sports. I'm talking about the fingertips, because in my opinion, if you model too much on the computer and calculate the perfect board for just one specific area of use, you might have a perfect board in an ideal environment, but nothing that works in a wide variety of conditions, with a wide variety of people and weight classes and is fun on all days. This is the result of feedback combined with understanding, expertise and experience - from the various branches of water sports.
What is your strategy regarding the product cycle? Do you revise the products annually, or do you only bring out new models when there really is something new?
We only revise a product if there is something to improve! This does not necessarily have to be on an annual basis.
The graphics, especially on your SUPs, have always been kept quite simple. Is that a personal taste of yours or is there a philosophy behind it?
We were always unanimous within the team when it came to design. We've been working with graphic designer Jan Indermühle since the beginning, back in 1989. He did the graphics for Indiana Skateboards back then. He is a gifted graphic designer. Back then, he brought the simple, minimalist yacht design with him. With foil products, on the other hand, we were a bit more daring right from the start, it has to be said. Next year we're coming up with a completely new pad design: we're moving away from the tiki patterns, that much I can already reveal.
You just mentioned them, the Ambassadors. What makes a good team rider for you?
When it comes to our team, we generally talk about ambassadors, i.e. brand ambassadors. On the one hand, we have the "Adventure Ambassadors", who are cool, adventurous guys and girls who paddle from the Zugspitze to the North Sea, for example, or simply deliver amazing shots of extraordinary places.
Then we have the "Race Ambassadors", where we now have Manuel Lauble from Constance, a top ten European paddler in the team. And finally, there are the "Adrenaline Ambassadors", who are crazy athletes who paddle in big waves, for example - or white water paddlers. Our team should be in a good mood and likeable. Results are not so important to me. I'm looking for long-term partnerships. The Indiana brand should radiate positive energy to the outside world, including through social media, of course. We are not the ones who sign contracts with world champions who may not be in a good mood as a person and only deliver results. Our team should simply enjoy working with us and be convinced by our products.
Do you think SUP racing has a future?
Hm (ponders for a long time). I think so, even if the signs aren't exactly good. There's no news from the Olympic side as to whether the discipline will become Olympic or not. Fanatic, for example, has just pulled the plug, disbanded the team and taken the raceboards out of the programme. We, on the other hand, believe in it and are carrying on - even if it's a zero calculation commercially, if at all.
In conclusion: Where do you see the SUP market in five years? And where will Indiana be positioned?
There will be a shakeout in the next two years! I can see that many players are staying out of it because they think the trend is slowly coming to an end and they have exhausted the scope. But I think the great thing about the sport - being able to get out on the water anywhere and at any time, switching off, doing something good for your body, being out in the fresh air and the relaxing effect of the water - it's all still there. People are still there and will stay there. It won't disappear, but it will consolidate somewhat. So I'd say that sales figures, especially in the budget segment, will certainly decline massively, but the rest of the market will be served by good players who offer great products and good service - and I clearly see Indiana at the forefront of this!
