Chad Jackson

Chad Kaimanu Jackson has been pushing the eco-board envelope, developing new blank materials from 'green foam' and agave, making custom fins from recycled redwood, and even inventing a hemp-derived fiberglass substitute, which he calls 'fibergrass'. Jackson will be bringing his green thumb and eco-consciousness to the panel discussing the changing technologies of surfboard manufacturing. Kaimanu Surfboards was born in Cayucos, California when his father, Bruce Jackson, an avid shaper and glasser since the '60s, made his first board and named it after his Hawaiian name Kaimanu (Ocean-Bird). After learning to surf and observing the surfboard building process, Chad soon began shaping and glassing as well. Kaimanu Surfboards became a passion project to build boards that performed to the highest standards and to utilize the most eco-friendly materials possible. It is now a family business that continues to build boards at the highest level of design and environmental responsibility here on the Central California Coast and Hawaii.