Blackfish collaborates with the world’s top athletes on new designs for SUP and Foil

“The DNA of Blackfish is around its tactile feel”*. TotalSUP had a rare opportunity to catch up with David Smart, endurance athlete, entrepreneur and the Founder of Blackfish Paddles, the high-performance paddle brand which philosophy is being driven by purpose, passion for the sport and people who contribute to it. Buckle up for a story that goes deeper than the industry itself and touches on risk, hustle, dedication and the future of the sport.

Hi David, how are you holding up? What’s the COVID-19 situation like in Canada? Are you still able to get on the water?

We are doing well here in Squamish and realise how blessed we are to live in a small town with easy access to nature. COVID-19 has affected all of us and it has changed the way we live, with many of those changes likely to be permanent. So being able to head out my front door and go for a run, a bike ride or a paddle is a blessing. The lack of ability to travel has meant that I haven’t travelled to Bangkok to visit the factory or to Phuket for product testing since March of last year. For me that is what I miss the most, as I get motivation and creativity from travelling to the factory. I do miss Thailand but on the other hand it now feels odd that several trips a year, to go halfway around the world was “normal”. It feels like the pandemic has been a reset button and that there are benefits to some of the changes.

So yes, we are still getting out on the water but I must be honest and say that cross-country skiing and foiling are taking priority over paddling. We are lucky to have the benefit of the legacy infrastructure from the 2010 Winter Olympics a short 40 minute drive from where we live. This is a world-class cross-country skiing area with 90km of groomed trails and so we go up there and I chase my super fit and strong 14-year old son around for an hour or so.

The other feature of our winter is strong outflow winds in Howe Sound. These arctic outflow winds are regularly 20 to 30 knots making them cold but fun for wing foiling. I am still very much a beginner but the sensations of wing foiling are amazing and I love the challenge of learning something new. The warmer weather will return and with it will be my return to paddling. I find that taking a break and doing other sports during the winter makes me enjoy the paddling more and it also helps me stay fit and injury free, both of which are important as we age.

The SUP industry has seen an unprecedented growth post-lockdown. Could you weigh in with your experience on how COVID-19 affected your business and your local SUP community?

Locally the number for people paddling has grown significantly. I paddled to celebrate my 53rd birthday and it was 3 degrees but with an amazing clear blue sky and I was amazed that I saw 5 other paddlers out there! Four of us had Blackfish paddles which is amazing and very exciting. So COVID-19 has been good for Blackfish as a company and we continue to grow. Paddling is such a great sport and really has something for everyone. It can be a great workout, it can be healing and connective, it can give people a new perspective on our ecosystem. Locally the good people at Norm Hann Expeditions and Coastal Stoke are working hard to make sure that people learn how to paddle properly and that they know how to enjoy Howe Sound safely. The Sound is a unique body of water that is cold, rugged and where conditions change quickly.

Looking beyond our local scene I think that SUP is here to stay and will continue to grow however the growth of 2020 is not sustainable. The supply chains for all SUP and surf equipment are stretched and with that stretch comes performance risk, credit risk and quality risk. My guess is that the start of the 2021 season will see those paddlers who got into the sport on inflatable boards and who love the sport, they will upgrade to better quality rigid boards. Many of the entry level inflatable boards are low quality and have a very short life because they are designed to fit a price point. Likewise the paddle that comes with such a package is something that can be upgraded. The paddle is your connection to the water and the way you move forward, so design and quality of your paddle makes a big difference to your paddling experience.

Photo: Chris Christie

For Blackfish our goal in 2021 is to have sustainable growth while managing performance, credit and quality risks. We are dedicated to building the best possible paddle for those that love our amazing sport. This takes a constant attention to detail combined with an ongoing evolution of our product. We don’t have calendar year product changes rather we prefer to have an evolution, or generations of the same designs. Any time product demand exceeds forecasts there is a risk that something will be missed or compromised in order to meet production goals. We are working hard to make avoid these mistakes but our goal remains to always build the best possible paddle.

Photo: Chris Christie

Any lessons in agility learnt you’d like to share?

Hahaha – where to start? We are constantly learning but the past year has reinforced the notion that the best companies are those where quality people are empowered to make decisions. So for me the biggest lesson is that a company is really just a reflection of the people who work there. I am very lucky to be surrounded by people who share a passion for SUP. The guys at the factory have been amazing in terms of working through issues and doing everything they can to deliver on time, all the while working to improve our paddles as well as develop some new ideas and products.

I have three amazing people here at Blackfish who share my vision and they all work together to build great paddles. Peter, our sales manager, has worked some very long days in the past year and has gone beyond what would be expected, for example, driving many hours to pick up or deliver product so that retailers could have inventory. Mary-Lin is our accountant and she helps us stay organised and on top of all the administrative items involved in running a business. Anna is our content manager and she does a great job of telling our brand story in a manner that reflects who we are and what’s important to us as a brand. And they all paddle!

New year – new ventures…Could you tell us about the latest Blackfish developments?

Sure I can share a couple of things but you have to keep them secret! We are about to launch a line of SUP fins and I am very excited by the project. There are three fins in the series and they have all been designed by Blackfish athletes and are all very different. Lincoln Dews has designed a fin that will be great for flat water, distance and anywhere where someone would look for a fin that tracks.

Blackfish Team Rider, Lincoln Dews

Amandine Chazot has designed a fin that will be great for course and beach racing and Sam McCullough has designed a fin that will be great for down winding. All the fins are made using the same process as our paddles: a CNC machined aluminium sandwich mould, bio resin and high-quality carbon. The result is that the fins are super light, strong and they look great! We have just started production and details on the fins will be released shortly. And no I don’t have a favourite:) Three amazing athletes, all lovely people have come up with three totally different designs and I can’t wait to let people try them!

Blackfish Team Rider, Amandine Chazot

We are also working on a new paddle that is foil specific. As you know I have the foiling bug and there is clearly a need for a paddle that can withstand the impact of a foil! We have been working on this for a few months and have a very different layup in the blade combined with a very different shaft weave which combine to give a very durable paddle. The design concept will also be applicable to surf, rivers and other places where the blade is likely to suffer a high impact. At this stage I really can’t say too much more but we hope to have this paddle ready for further testing in the Summer and available thereafter. We test everything and it has to have the correct DNA to be a Blackfish paddle!

What are your Blackfish Paddles of choice?

That’s a good question! I find myself usually paddling prototypes and factory seconds so I am rarely using a production paddle. I do admit to having a bias towards the Viento Black Series. This is a lighter version of the Viento blade with a slightly stiffer shaft and it was designed purely for racing. For me the attraction to this paddle is actually the aesthetic: it is black carbon with black branding and the black-on-black effect is very interesting and visually satisfying up close. It was also the paddle that I had the most input on the design and so I really enjoyed the challenge of taking the Viento, which people really enjoy, and trying to improve it.

 

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Could you tell us more about the #noeasyway Blackfish philosophy?

Yes, that hashtag is one that runs deep into the DNA of who we are as a brand. Before I started to paddle I used to do duathlon, which is a run followed by a bike and then a second run. I didn’t run in high school and don’t come from an athlete family and it became very obvious quite early in my duathlon life that the fast guys where fast for no single reason but rather a series of reasons. Their training had consistency, they eat well, they slept well, they did other sports in the off season and they did strength training. Some of them did all this while working! Anyway as I started to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together I came across a few different coaches and mentors. One of them was a guy called Gordo and he would do these epic weeks where he would swim, cycle and run insane volumes, recover and then hopefully see improvement. Gordo was the guy who used to say there was no easy way: you have to do the work and you have to do the right work.

That phrase has stuck with me ever since and now over 20 years later it really is part of who we are as a company. Here are a couple of examples of #noeasyway in action: we don’t paint our blades, they come out of the mould the way you see them in the shop. That takes skill at the factory and involves using expensive moulds and better quality products. We don’t wrap our paddles and ship them in plastic or bubble wrap, we sew a reusable sock made from recycled materials that comes with your paddle. Both of these are examples of something that takes more time, has great cost but is the right way to do it – no easy way.

It also reflects on the athletes that we sponsor – they are an amazing group of people whose dedication and love for the sport is only surpassed by their work effort. Spend a week with Lincoln, Amandine or Sam and you will understand what I mean: super fun loving, and yet a huge ability to do work and stay focused. No easy way.

Blackfish Team Rider, Sam McCullough – Photo: Steven McCullough

What are your predictions for the SUP industry in the next 6 months?

I am cautiously optimistic because SUP has so many aspects: surf, touring, yoga, down winding. There really is something for everyone in the sport and it is so accessible and healthy that it has a lot of further growth potential.

I do think that we can assume that elite level racing is not coming back this year due to COVID-19. This is a shame as I really enjoy the social aspect of the bigger events but the upside is that we can now paddle for the love of paddling, rather than “training”. I know that big events serve as goals but there is nothing to stop us from creating our own goal based paddling adventures.

The fundamentals are positive for the sport but the risk to the industry is further economic declines as a result of COVID-19. Each country is different but here in Canada it is now hard to think that the average Canadian consumer is going to be feeling more positive in June of 2021 than he did on June of 2020. The economic impact of COVID-19 has been asymmetrical and it has been significant. I can’t help but think that this combined with Covid fatigue may result in the 2021 sales season being solid rather than euphoric like it was in 2020.

Stay safe, stay healthy and #neverstoppaddling!

Thank you for your time David! Stay safe too!

To find out more about Blackfish Paddles and their progressive, refined, handcrafted designs, visit www.blackfishpaddles.com

*Salish Wolf Podcast by Todd Howard: David Smart on Founding a Paddleboard Company, Overcoming Demons, and Riding the Waves of Life