DUNCAN ROY COLE  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ….A little background on me, Duncan Cole, and how I got hooked on surfing and shaping boards. I grew up on the south coast of KZN,  South Africa, a place rich in wave choice and quality. I was fortunate to live close to the beach which made it easy to surf often , almost every weekend and sometimes before or after school during the week … Life was on the beach … I hung out with a local crew and we surfed everything and anything … always getting stoked!

Surfing for me can be  a healthy balanced lifestyle , which is dictated around weather conditions and tides . I try maintain plenty time in the water especially when the surf is cranking. My parents and  sister also had a  strong passion for surfing  being involved in the competitive surfing scene  for many  years in the 80’s and 90’s when surfing was judged on the whole wave ridden. We saw many local surfers flourish from this era and shine internationally. This was a huge influence on me growing up …. I was awarded junior national colours for judging in 1993  , for placing first on a panel of judges at the South Africa Surfing championships held at Supertubes Jeffreys Bay  … 

I moved to Durban in my early twenties shortly after meeting my wife, Danette. Here I met up with  Angus Foster and he mentored me in surfboard production, from designing, laminating and finishing .. school of ‘Hands-on- Approach’…. mixing resins, epoxies and  scrubbing blanks. I had the good fortune of working at Safari Surfboards under Spider Murphy. Spider became a close friend and mentor, and had a major influence on my career. I worked at Safari/Spider surfboards  for 10 years, between 2010 and 2020 with the last 5 as a full time shaper.

In 2007 I started a surfboard label  “RETRO” surfboards where I hand shaped retro style designs and fun boards. In 2010  I then created “ColeSurfboards” giving my label more identity, designing and shaping for more progressive surfers, and getting valuable feedback. This led  me  extending the “ColeSurfboards” design range, whilst adding a personal flavour to each design. Seeing a customer stoked on a ColeSurfboard design served as a huge motivator for me… 

In 2020 I set up factory in Amanzimtoti , South Africa, doing hands on surfboard production,  focusing on every step so as to provide exceptional quality and performance. Its important for me to maintain ColeSurfboards’ reputation for good quality and strength..

In 2022 I extended my digital presence to showcase all my designs and  due to a domain conflict, I decided to rebrand to “ColeBoardriders”. I am really excited with the chance to consolidate and market my brand under “ColeBoardriders.com”

 

Life philosophy – talk truthfully

Surf philosophy – share the stoke

Work philosophy – focus on production and don’t f-k up