Waialua / Hawaii / United States
Lon Klein, the owner of Haleiwa Surfboard Co has a diverse background, which encompasses architectural design, and construction, as well as fine woodworking. He is a dedicated surfer, who, at age 66, is..."more stoked than ever about the sport." "My main focus, when I was experimenting with various techniques for producing hollow wooden boards, was to create a blank that was super-strong, yet light enough to be maneuverable. Imagine surfing 15 Sunset on a guitar that has morphed into the perfect board for the occasion...that was my mission. Now, 15 years, and over 200 boards later, I believe Ive accomplished that mission, with two major plusses: the boards have a unique resonance in the water, they do almost sing...and, we found that the form and shape of the boards, along with a mirror gloss and polish polyester resin finish, sets off the beauty of the wood used beyond anything I could have imagined. Now, we make not only riders out of light-weight wood species like C.Rosa, Ceiba, and Balsa, but boards created specifically as art/display pieces, made from exquisite hardwoods like Koa, Mango, and Andiroba. They truly deserve the description, functional art forms."
