Hey! Who are you, and what are you working on?
Hey! My name is Sylvain. I have an engineering background and love surfing, skiing and skateboarding. My co-founder Léo is an oceanography engineer and surfer since he was a kid.
We design and manufacture high-performance, custom-made and sustainable surfboards from recycled plastic with 3D printers, in Anglet, South West of France.
Léo and I created Wyve, formerly known as HEXA Surfboards, in 2019. With a “Direct-To-Consumer” supply chain, integrating all the steps of the value chain of the manufacturing of a surfboard. Wyve wants to lead boardsports towards technical and environmental excellence.
How did you come up with the idea?
Léo and I met in 2012 at the university. We shared the same passion for board sports and the same vision of surfing: hedonism, freedom, harmony with nature, perseverance, and performance.
Our personal experiences have shown us that traditional surfboards often break easily and are not really adapted to your level. Moreover, the environmental impact is disastrous: surfboards have a short and toxic lifecycle (same carbon footprint as a laptop) and surfboard manufacturing has not changed for 60 years.
Both engineers and surfers, we decided to use our engineering skills to reinvent the way surfboards are produced and distributed.
What are the main challenges in your business right now?
Wyve surfboards are designed to meet the technical and environmental surfer’s expectations. But revolutionizing performance while minimizing environmental impact is not always easy. First, there is often an image problem: people often think that eco-friendly means low-performance. We want to break this myth by proving the opposite. To optimize the performance of our boards, we make many iterations on our manufacturing processes. Recently, we have launched an R&D program in which 10 super-motivated surfers will test new structures and materials during 1 year.
Professional surfers have the role of influencers. However, only a few of them surf eco-responsible boards. It's difficult to get surfers to accept and trust innovative boards such as ours. In this sense, we work in collaboration with top-level French surfers to have our boards tested and accepted by very good surfers.
What is your favorite surf spot and why?
I love Anglet (near Biarritz, France) because you can find a huge range of waves at the same spot!
Where can we learn more about you?
Learn more about us, our boards, and our history on our website.
You can join our Wyver’s community by following us on Instagram.
If you want to see our boards surfed in a beautiful sunset, check our first surf clip in Anglet.
And if you pass by the Basque Country, don't hesitate to come and visit our micro-factory in Anglet, we’ll be glad to meet you!
