WAPPA'S STORY

Wappa Paddle Boards began out of a need for a low cost, eco-friendly stand up paddle board that was good quality. Wappa’s founder Layne Pennell established the brand because he was unable to find a board that met his specifications for the SUP rental business he was opening.

When developing the Wappa brand, Layne decided to use the rental business as a real life product testing center.  If a prototype could survive the day to day beating in a rental environment, it would prove tough enough for whatever an owner could put it through. He tested stability, glide, durability and overall enjoyment of the SUP from the experiences of almost 1000 renters and 100+ students.

Customers raved about a certain set of prototype boards. How beautiful they were, how everybody who used them had a great time, very stable, etc…  These were the boards that became Wappa.

LAYNE'S STORY

I have been paddle boarding for 15+ years. I learned and honed my skills while living in Mexico. I have experience with flat water, open ocean, and surf environments.

I love stand up paddle boarding (SUP), and I want you to love it too. That's why I created Wappa. I wanted to create an environmentally friendly, high quality board that is affordable for the average user.

I've used poor quality boards in the past, and the experience is usually substandard. I don't want you to have a substandard experience.  I want you to love SUP, and it starts with a good quality board.

HOW WAPPA GOT ITS NAME

Pronounced \ wAW- pa \. "Wappa" is the English phonetic spelling of the Spanish word "guapa" which means "good looking" or "pretty".

While testing prototypes in Mexico, people on the beach would often remark "su tablas son muy guapa" which translates to "Your boards are very beautiful". Layne wanted to honor the Latin roots of his brand, and Wappa was the perfect expression to do just that.

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Mission
Statement

Our mission is to provide our customers with the world's best bamboo stand up paddle boards, build them as  environmentally friendly as possible, and in doing so, exceed their expectations for service, quality and value.

Values Statement

Ecological Statement

Our reputation is our most precious asset.  We will develop our brand one handshake, one transaction and one kept promise at a time. We will maintain the highest of ethical standards.  We build loyal, long term customer relationships by acting with personal honesty and integrity, treating them fairly, meeting their needs and earning their trust. 

We will decrease our environmental footprint by using renewable energy in our factory. We utilize sustainable materials when building our products and eco friendly construction techniques to reduce the amount of material required to make them.. We will continually work towards recycling 100% of our factory waste. ​