Their goal is simple: to make surfboards that last and have as minimal an environmental impact as possible.
“Surfers enjoy the natural environment, but the things we ride generally don’t marry up to that,” Pete says.
The 35-year old trained fine furniture maker has been surfing since he was 18, mostly on the “inconsistent” English shores he grew up close to.
He and Jane, also a furniture maker, had both separately travelled around New Zealand when they were younger.
When they decided to pack their bags and leave England they had one place they wanted to end up.
“When we travelled here we both just loved Gisborne and the East Cape,” Jane says.
“There is a real sense of community.”
For Pete, the surf is “heaven”.
“Just two seconds down the road, there are so many options to surf.”
Red Leaf came out of combining Pete’s woodworking skills with a growing frustration about the short life-span of traditional, foam surfboards.
“I loved surfing, loved woodwork, so thought let’s make some wooden surfboards.
“I had ideas itching in the back of my mind, being a surfer and someone who works with wood.
“I started searching online, watching videos, and spent several years developing and testing a hollow core building technique that required no foam and could encompass all the design features of modern surfboards.”
Retro-style fishSeveral years ago Pete shaped his first wooden surfboard — a retro-style fish, from English cedar.
Since then he has moved on to paulownia, a lightweight, strong and fast-growing timber, which takes just five years to reach maturity and can even be harvested and left to regrow.
They source it from a Waikato dairy farmer, who planted the trees as both a cash crop and to reduce run-off and E.coli bacteria entering the waterways on his property.
The hollow internal frames of the surfboards are made from Forestry Stewardship Council-certified poplar plywood.
After a board has been shaped it is given a waterproof seal with an epoxy resin, made from waste pine resin and a biodiesel waste product.
While Pete says the boards are not entirely environmentally-friendly — they import the poplar and resin — it has a far smaller environmental impact than a conventional surfboard.
“Conventional polyester blanks are imported, so have a carbon footprint, and are made from petrochemicals.
“Even the resins are from petrochemicals, so they are not healthy to work with.
“Longevity is a big thing too. After a year conventional surfboards have dents all over, and can be leaking water.
“They can’t be recycled, do not biodegrade, so go straight to landfill, and contribute to our throwaway culture.”
While the wooden surfboards are more suited to a traditional style of surfing, with the right techniques Pete can shape almost any modern design, with performance being his highest priority.
“A lot of people think timber cannot get the same outcome as with foam, but paulownia bends to shapes nicely.”
Historically, the first surfboards were made from timber.
In Ecuador today, many surfboards are made out of the native balsa wood, another fast-growing, light and strong timber, which grows there in abundance.
Paulownia is slightly heavier than balsa, but stronger, Pete says.
“It also has built in anti-bug and water resistant properties, from the high silica content, meaning if it gets a ding it won’t draw water.
“It is lovely to work with, a nice, easy, forgiving timber.
“They are about 25 percent heavier than standard foam, so lend to a more classic, soulful style, drawn out lines, and working with the wave.
“Wood also has a dampening effect, so if the conditions are not ideal, it pushes through chop in the wave.”
Polystyrene foam optionsPete is also working with expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam options, which are much lighter.
Unlike polyurethane foam, it can be recycled. They source it from Marko Foam, which produces the blanks in the United States with 25 percent recycled EPS foam.
Along with shaping custom surfboards, Red Leaf run do-it-yourself workshops.
Pete ran his first workshop a year-and-a-half ago and planned to run another last year, but had issues with his health.
In 2009 he was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called ulcerative colitis.
“It is a condition the medical world says there is no cure for and does not know how it is caused,” Pete says.
“I had a few little niggles with it early on but nothing very serious, then I had five years pretty much symptom-free and I really did not consider I had it anymore.”
But at the end of 2015, it returned with a vengeance.
“It gave me a savage beating and made me pay attention,” Pete says.
He was admitted to hospital on three separate occasions, had blood transfusions, internal bleeding, anaemia, extreme weight loss and fatigue.
With the help of some “epic” mentors he was able to turn his situation around, and after 18 months was starting to come out the other side with a renewed passion for surfing and shaping.
“Spending so long out of the water, out of the workshop, away from being able to build the business has given me the time to think about where I really want to take the business.
“Now more than ever I want Red Leaf to be a journey about people.”
Pete ran his second workshop in October. They have one scheduled every month over summer.
They have had people enquiring from both Gisborne and out of town — their last two participants were travellers from the United States.
“We see it as a great way to not only shape a beautiful surfboard but have a great getaway in a beautiful part of the country,” Jane says.
Computer cutPete designs the boards and has the separate wooden pieces cut by a computer. Workshop participants then get a kit to piece together, shape and refine, with Pete on hand over the five days to guide the process.
“I just want to share what I enjoy,” Pete says.
“It is a nice feeling, paddling out on something you have made yourself, and it is a really nice thing to share and pass on and meet new people along the way.”
Through the construction and build-your-own process Pete and Jane aim to provide surfers with a more sustainable option and a deeper connection to the board they ride.
“The boards are built to be durable,” Pete says.
“There is no reason people can’t still be surfing these when they are 70 years old.
“I think that also helps build an emotional connection. Even if people get older and do not ride them anymore, chances are they won’t get thrown away.”
