Episode 38: Meet Ryan Lynch, Founder of Timber Surf Co., Master Shaper, and Eco Surfer

The Oceanriders Podcast

Apparently, the majority of surfers are nature-lovers. Afterall, they fell in love with the ocean first before the sport. Ryan Lynch was one of them. His memories of the ocean remains vivid and thrilling until today. As he became deeply exposed and involved with sustainable development in Oregon, his passion to help save the Earth became stronger. One way he could do so is by reducing as much of the carbon footprint released into the ocean. He founded Timber Surf Co., a company that creates intricately designed hollow wooden surfboards.

Ryan gives an interesting walk through in the making of his unique surfboards. The boards are so robust that the quality cannot be questioned. The custom designs were so intricate as well, that it takes a month to finish a single product. As the master shaper, Ryan himself looks into every single detail- planning, choosing of materials, designing, creating and “testing” of the boards. His boards were awarded a gold star or Level One surf board by the ECOBOARD Project this year, proving to the high-performance and sustainability of his boards. For Ryan, sustainable surfing is a way of taking care of the ocean that we love. However, saving the earth cannot be done by just one or a few individuals. Environmental awareness is an obligation and a pride each one must take on.

Episode Highlights:

• 05:15 Called by the Perfect Waves
• 09:16 Shaped by Sustainable Development Culture
• 18:58 Engineering Timber Boards
• 21:19 The Makings of a One-of-a-Kind Surfboard
• 26:25 The Advantages of a Wooden Surfboard
• 30:11 Sustainable Surfing
• 35:52 Price Points of Wooden Surfboards
• 41:10 How to Sustain Your Passion

Today, my guest is Ryan Lynch. Ryan is from California and shapes 100% wooden surfboards under the name Timber Surf Co. or Timber Surf Company. If you were at the Freshwater Pro this year, you may have seen one of his boards showcased there. In fact, Ryan's story is really inspiring because he's living the dream of doing what he loves and is managing to spend as much time as possible, “testing” his boards in the water.

“You shouldn't make products that don't have robustness; You shouldn't make a product that's built to break.” –Ryan Lynch

Ryan is a craftsman at heart and shapes hollow wooden surfboards that are made of all sorts of woods, most of which are reclaimed or recycled. All the stages of product design have been carefully thought through at Timber Surf Company. And we get to talk about what a truly sustainable surfboard is. In fact, if you listened to Ryan's production design process, it's no surprise that Timber Surf Co. has been awarded a gold star by the ECOBOARD Project. From being a passionate craftsman to becoming a product designer for Tesla, bobbing up and down the Pan-American Highway in a trailer he designed and customized, Ryan Lynch's story is full of surprises.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Take care, have fun, and enjoy the waves.

Ciao,

Imi

Connect with Ryan:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Resources Links:

Podcast

• How I Built This Podcast by Guy Ra

Quotes:

• 13:54 “Every product that gets made in this world has a process behind it and thus has a reverse process… And if you approach that correctly, you end up with a perfectly good product all over again and you don't have to throw something away.” –Ryan Lynch
• 26:01 “When you actually start touching the wood, everything is in place for that board to just fall into place. Really it just how you build the framework such that you can build the product.” –Ryan Lynch
• 30:28 “You shouldn't make products that don't have robustness; You shouldn't make a product that's built to break.” –Ryan Lynch
• 32:23 “If you’re making it and you're so happy to make it and you're putting your heart and soul into it, it makes the whole difference with the finished product.” –Imi Barneaud
• 41:10 “There's always going to be elements of work. I don't think there's a way to do solely what you love and to sustain that. There's got to be little pockets that have to support that, that maybe aren't within your wheelhouse.” –Ryan Lynch
• 42:00 “If you have an idea and you have a passion, just go and do it and don't stop. If you… just keep working towards something, there's nobody that's going to get in your way. Not nowadays. Everything is possible.” –Ryan Lynch

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Apparently, the majority of surfers are nature-lovers. Afterall, they fell in love with the ocean first before the sport. Ryan Lynch was one of them. His memories of the ocean remains vivid and thrilling until today. As he became deeply exposed and involved with sustainable development in Oregon, his passion to help save the Earth became stronger. One way he could do so is by reducing as much of the carbon footprint released into the ocean. He founded Timber Surf Co., a company that creates intricately designed hollow wooden surfboards.

Ryan gives an interesting walk through in the making of his unique surfboards. The boards are so robust that the quality cannot be questioned. The custom designs were so intricate as well, that it takes a month to finish a single product. As the master shaper, Ryan himself looks into every single detail- planning, choosing of materials, designing, creating and “testing” of the boards. His boards were awarded a gold star or Level One surf board by the ECOBOARD Project this year, proving to the high-performance and sustainability of his boards. For Ryan, sustainable surfing is a way of taking care of the ocean that we love. However, saving the earth cannot be done by just one or a few individuals. Environmental awareness is an obligation and a pride each one must take on.