Hi there and thanks for dropping by on my site….A little background on me, Duncan Cole, and how I got hooked on surfing and shaping boards. I grew up on the south coast of KZN,  South Africa, a place rich in wave choice and quality. I was fortunate to live close to the beach which made it easy to surf almost every day sometimes before and after school, as well as weekends … Life was on the beach … I hung out with a local crew and we surfed anything … always getting stoked!

Surfing for me is a healthy lifestyle which is dictated around tides and wind conditions. As a surfboard manufacturer I’ve managed to balance the time to work with the time for reward (surf). My south coast family also has a strong passion for surfing  being involved in the competitive surfing scene  for years in the 80’s and 90’s when surfing was judged on the whole wave ridden. We saw many local surfers flourish from this era and shine internationally. This was a huge influence on me growing up ….

I moved to Durban in my early twenties shortly after meeting my wife, Danette. Here I met up with my uncle, Angus Foster and he mentored me in surfboard production, from designing, laminating and finishing ..at the school of ‘Hands-on-Experience’…. mixing resins, epoxies and  scrubbing blanks. I had the good fortune of working at Safari Surfboards under Spider Murphy. Spider became a close friend and mentor, and had a major influence on my career. I worked at Safari for 10 years, with the last 5 as a full time shaper.

In 2007 I started the surfboard label  ÔÇ£RETROÔÇØ surfboards where I hand shaped retro style designs and fun boards. In 2010  I then created ÔÇ£Cole SurfboardsÔÇØ giving my label more identity, designing and shaping for more progressive surfers, and getting valuable feedback. This led to me extending the “Cole Surfboards” design range, whilst adding a personal flavour to each design. Seeing a customer stoked with one of my designs serves as a huge motivator for me.

In 2020 I set up factory in Amanzimtoti, doing hands on surfboard production, whilst focusing on every step so as to provide exceptional quality and performance. Its important for me to maintain Cole Surfboards’ reputation for good quality and strength surfboards.

In 2022 I extended my digital presence to showcase all my designs and unfortunately due to a domain conflict, I’ve had to rebrand to “Cole Boardriders”. I am really excited with the chance to consolidate and market my brand under ÔÇ£ColeBoardriders.comÔÇØ

Life philosophy ÔÇô talk truthfully

Surf philosophy ÔÇô share the stoke

Work philosophy ÔÇô do each stage correctly