North Vancouver longboard maker rides popularity wave

Graham Buksa has found his calling: making longboards that have a bamboo core.

"We originally made them from maple, but we switched to bamboo [with a fibreglass coating], which is half a kilogram lighter and stronger," the 28-year-old Buksa said of the boards manufactured at his North Vancouver shop, Rayne Longboards. "And in [each of] the last two years, our business has doubled. We expect it to double again this year."

He also noted that bamboo is an environmentally sustainable product.

Buksa has been making his longboards – longer and faster than skateboards and capable of speeds of more than 100 kilometres per hour – for eight years, six as the head of Rayne Longboards. "They’re as fast as bicycles, sometimes faster," he said.

"It’s like skiing or snowboarding, but on a hill outside your house."

The former engineering student took to longboarding by chance during a trip to Banff when he tried one out. "There was a longboard on sale and I bought it.

"I started building a mould. Making one turned into making five. Making five turned into buying a pallet of wood and making 100. I made boards in a garage for a summer [and] I took quality-control classes, law classes and a business-plan course."

He started his company in 2004 with a $50,000 investment.

Today, Buksa sells his boards – completed longboards range in price from $280 to $1,000 – throughout Canada and around the world, with U.S. customers accounting for 50 per cent of his sales.

Everything is done in-house, from manufacturing the board to adding graphics.

Buksa notes that longboarding has taken off in North America, with 30-per-cent growth each year.

"The economy has been turbulent, but we survived it quite well and we’re growing tremendously. The market has grown hugely in Australia [and] now you see growth in the Philippines, Costa Rica, places we never thought that it would be [so popular]. Asia has huge growth, so we feel it’s a big potential market."

Buksa’s boards are sold at their showroom, in other stores and online.

His suggestion to aspiring entrepreneurs?

"Write manuals for everything that happens. The whole business should be documented. And communication with employees is very important.

"Find some good mentors, a support network, someone in business who can answer questions."