About

Barron Surfboards is a  New Zealand owned private company, making high performance surfboards in Tauranga, New Zealand. As well as developing, inventing some of the most technical board build processes  and Working with the worlds  largest brands .

Barron invented the method of using wool as a replacement for fibreglass. Which has lead to international recognition and incorporating wool into the current board models. 

Barron's innovative skills have also  lead him to develop technologies Barron Flex (FlexBar) , in collaboration with Channel Islands Surfboards, arguably the most prestigious surfboard company on the globe. Barron  makes Channel Island FlexBar boards for the New Zealand market and has also incorporated this technology into his very own Barron shapes.

I have the  ability  to amagine it ,believing it and  knowledge to build it .The possibilities are endless to take the industry to places never seen before .   Quote from Barron) 

Early Days

Barron Surfboards has been around along time  - back in the beginning they were known as Red Barrons.

An old pig shed was the first shaping bay where  Barron learned his craft. He didn't really have a clue how to actually build boards, so his first stop was the library, to find a book on shaping boards. With those skills honed in, he next needed to learn how to fibreglass a board. So he put himself to work, glassing almost anything he could get his hands on... boats, cars, building products and more.

In 1997, after amassing a wealth of knowledge in the composite industry,Barron went for it and started Barron Surfboards in Christchurch. Almost immediately, he had a steady stream of custom boards for locals, which lead to supplying handshaped surfboards New Zealand wide. At its peak, in the heart of Summer, Barron was doing 15 to 25 boards per week, all handshaped!

Barron has always had an inventive spirit, and so is always trying to find different ways to build and design boards. This has included using moulded technology to vacuum, as well as experimenting with epoxy and polyester resins, along with a number of different types of foams other than eps and polyurethane.

Paul has also spent a number of seasons travelling to Bali (Indonesia) to shape for team riders, local rippers and travellers from around the world. It also helps that Indo has world class waves everywhere!

His surfboard factory in New Brighton went from strength to strength providing surfers both local and nationwide with custom made boards that were perfect for their style of surfing. With everything else a surfer could want he was a true one stop shop for any surfer, and Barron  continued to shape, experiment, and provide the local market with quality custom surfboards right up to 2016. 

Today

After spending 20 years in the South Island, Barron Surfboards has now moved North and is based in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty.

His scope has also changed a little with Barron Surfboards becoming more of a technology based company, which currently holds several patents on future surfboard construction and designs.

One high profile patented product is BarronFlex (also known as CIFlexBar) which has been licensed to Channel Islands Surfboards, one of the biggest players in the industry. Barron Surfboards makes all the CIFlexbar for the New Zealand market.

Barron still handshapes custom boards which are becoming a dying art form, but he says there is still something special about getting a planer and creating a design without boarders. There aren't many products you can buy that have that touch.

In stating that, the computer is great for copying that magic board, and for Channel Islands, all boards are computer shaped, to get the right model dimensions every time.

Keep your eye out for exciting new developments that are sure to come in the future!