LIGHTBOARDCORP® PARADOXA available to demo at the 2023 ICF SUP Worlds: Interview with the Maker Gerd Weisner

There’s been a lot of buzz since the launch of the LIGHTBOARDCORP®PARADOXA and its debut at the SUP Alps Trophy 2023 SUPALOT stop. The Light Riders have been sweeping the podiums ever since and are now ready for the final leg of the SUP racing season.

In the run up to the 2023 ICF Stand Up Paddling World Championships held in Pattaya, Thailand (15-19 November), TotalSUP caught up with Gerd Weisner, Co-Founder of the Light Board Corp, for a sneak peek of what’s in store for the brand and the PARADOXA availability at the ICF SUP Worlds.

Photo by Andy Klotz Photography

We’ve witnessed so much hype around the LIGHTBOARDCORP® PARADOXA on social media. What has been going on since the launch of the board?

It has been amazing to see many racers around the world committing to a board they couldn’t test ahead. But the shape details, new construction and building process did convince on scratch.

Reality proved the theory and Normen Weber for example has won the German Championships in all three disciplines including Sprint, Tech and Long Distance on 14×23” PARADOXA. He also won the overall title of the SUP Alps Trophy, the EUROTOUR stop in Berlin and had an amazing race at the EUROTOUR Nordhausen, finishing 4th in a high competitive field just 20 – 30 seconds behind Michael Booth and Noic Garioud who took the win.

Photo by Uros Kekus Kleva

At the start Normen was literally flying out of the start line. He loves the top speed and stability of the PARADOXA 23”. Now we just launched the 22” and 21” model and delivered these to Japan and China. A young athlete from China (Shi Bijiang) just recently finished 4th on the PARADOXA 21” in a big local race which has had some international flair with the winner Daniel Hasulyo. Shi will attend as well on the ICF World SUP Championships and we are excited to see how the Asian athletes are doing. We’ve also gained some traction in Japan and we are pretty convinced that the Japanese Team will do very well in the upcoming races.

Photo source: EuroTour 2023

Besides the elite level amateurs Im super stoked to get the comments from SUP race loving community such as Frederic Truchet who was the first to order the PARADOXA 23” in France said:
“I received the board, it is in impeccable condition. I am delighted with the build quality and lines of this board. A quick test on the water at the end of the afternoon, confirmed my choice: the glide is impressive and the balance within my reach.” 

Speaking about France, I’m also happy to announce that Nicolas Peschier will paddle the Marathon de l’Ardèche on the Paradoxa 23“.

Are all the sizes of PARADOXA (from 14×21 to 14×25) now available?

We finished three molds: 21”, 22” and 23” . The 25” version will be ready for Spring 2024. The shape is way more stable than any board I know due to the super low standing area. I got some reply from a paddler racing successfully on the 21” who mentioned that it’s “super fast but too stable”. Guess that’s exactly why I named it the PARADOXA. So the 25” will be a gran tourismo and will suit heavyweight racers.

We’re stoked to hear that you’re heading to the ICF Worlds with the quiver. I’m sure Mathieu will definitely try the boards out! What’s behind the decision to head to Pattaya? Are you looking into new markets?

I wasn’t sure until the beginning of October whether we could bring the three dimensions to test to Thailand in time so it has been a quick decision. Now we are happy to announce that we found a solid distributor in Thailand – many thanks to Shane who has provided us with logistic support!

Yes, the PARADOXA is ready to roll out and we embrace new distributors in Thailand, Japan and China. SUP racing will have a bright future and Asia is fast becoming one of the big SUP racing clusters. We already see incredible results from Asian paddlers, the number of participants in races and this is just the start. For Europe we can handle most of the demand directly from our offices in Germany but we are looking for partnerships in both Americas, Australia and other Asian countries.

Could you share a sneak peek of confirmed Light Board Corp athletes competing? We know Peter Weidert will be defending his Championship title…

Yes, Peter will be a favourite for the Masters 50 division defending his Sprint Championship Title and I guess if the conditions are not too rough, I wouldn’t also count him out of the Long Distance and Tech races as well. He will be competing on the PARADOXA 22”.

Normen Weber, Donato Freens are unfortunately not attending but Hermann Husslein will wave the flag in the Open Class for our Team and Thailand. Hermann. He will race on the PARADOXA 21” and is actually faster than ever.

Photo by Uros Kekus Kleva

There is a well known high-profile racer fired up for a medal in the Open Sprints category who is looking to use the PARADOXA 23” (not yet confirmed, but watch this space) . As mentioned above there will be also young SUP talent from China and Japan racing the PARADOXA 21” and 22”.

What riders will find in the Light Board Corp demo quiver in Pattaya? Which race models will be available to test?

We promote full on the PARADOXA. But there will be paddlers using our proven Signature model and I’m sure they will let others to test it.

Light Board Corp is not just about racing boards – There’s an impressive quiver of inflatable paddleboards – from all-round to touring and race. Will any of iSUP models be available in Pattaya?

I know that some paddlers from our “army of amateurs” are looking to start in the iSUP category and they will bring their boards.

Will you be competing at the ICF Worlds?

Oh yes for sure – I´m 55, should be old and slow, but I don’t feel like that. I had some good results so far during the SUP Alps Trophy, the German Championships and many other races. The Paradoxa 23” suits me so well. If the conditions are rough, paddlers from coastal areas will have the advantage but if it is flat I can catch up a good results. I was happy to win a bronze medal in the 2021 ICF Masters 50 World Championship on Hungary, especially in the Tech race and a flat water Long Distance grind, so anything can happen.

Photo by Andy Klotz Photography

What’s happening after the ICF worlds – What’s in the calendar?

Next race will be the GlaGla with the whole Light Board Corp Team ! It’s such a great race with best vibes and hundreds of racers and a fixed stop in our calendar.

Thank you for your time Gerd and we can’t wait to see you and other Light Riders in action – Good luck!

To find out more about LIGHTBOARDCORP® designs, visit lightboardcorp.com  and check out our previous interview with Gerd Weisner

For more details on PARADOXA’s design and tech, click here 

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