Grow Surfboards
Lightweight, high performance surfboards made from sustainable Oregon Redwood.
Grow Surfboard's story
Grow Surfboards started with Harrison Grey in his garage in 2023. Frustrated with the environmental impact of plastic foam surfboards, he set out on a journey to flip the surf industry on its head.
Harrison Grey, Founder, Chief Product Designer
Alec Wright, Product Design, UX/UI, Graphic Designer
The problem
Although wooden surfboards have been around for decades, they are often very heavy and cost thousands of dollars. This leads to users opting for cheaper, polluting plastic surfboards.
Solution
Taking inspiration from nature, we hypothesized a lightweight board would be possible by adding a supporting skeleton, similar to a fish's spine.
First prototype
The spine had holes cut in order to evenly distribute air sealed in the board and save weight.
Wooden rails
Rails were fabricated by steam bending wood and holding in place with various clamps.
Top deck
The top and bottom deck needed to be painstakingly shaped to match the 'rocker' or curvature of the board.
Glassing
The wooden board was treated with epoxy and sanded down to the finished prototype.
Iterations
Despite the beauty of our first prototype, we knew we could do better. Further reducing weight, we reduced the thickness of the wood by 50% and replaced the rails with cork.
Final product
Grow Surfboards is happy to introduce our first flagship model, the Shortboard Fish, weighing in at just 7.7 pounds.
Sustainability
Sustainability and accessibility are two key values at Grow Surfboards. Our wood is sourced from a local redwood mill in Eugene, Oregon, reducing fossil fuel consumption and keeping material costs low.
Weight
While wood is more sustainable than plastic foam boards, plastic has remained attractive to consumers due to its affordability and weight.
With Grow Surfboard's new product, all of that changes.
