Story
A return
to origin.
Wawa was founded in Muizenberg by Cobus Joubert, Andrew Strode and David Hidi — driven by a shared relationship with the ocean and a desire to build boards that feel purposeful.
The name tells you something about the material. Wawa is the Brazilian term for African timber, known elsewhere as obeche — a nod to the wood at the heart of everything they make.
Surfing's earliest boards were carved from trees. Over time, foam and fiberglass replaced wood in the pursuit of convenience and mass production. Wawa revisits that original material — not as nostalgia, but as evolution.
Cobus shaped his first board in 2000. The years that followed were spent refining the approach — experimenting with locally harvested timber, testing forms inspired by the alaias and paipos of early wave riders, and studying the work of legendary shapers Bob Simmons, Joe Quigg, Mike Larmont and Brian O'Donnell.
The current method — paulownia over recycled foam cores with cork rails — is the result of over fifteen years of iteration. It combines the feel and character of wood with the demands of contemporary surfing.
Each board honours surfing's lineage while embracing what riding waves feels like today.