1) Why did you decide to start the family business PUKAS?
My dad (Iñigo Letamendia) and a bunch of friends were seeking the fun side of life in 1973 by trying to build surfboards in a rented "caserio" in Cantabria. It wasn't the business that moved them, it was a sexy lifestyle that was lining up for them to discover. I guess my mom (Marian Azpiroz) put the balance in my dad's smart madness by joining the gang and trying to make a profit. It was in 1979 when my uncle Miguel Azpiroz joined forces with them and started Pukas Surf in the Basque Country.
2) You have three parts to the business: Manufacturing Surfboards, Distribution & Retail stores. Was this always the plan and how did the business evolve over time?
Making surfboards lead to sewing bikinis, to sewing boardshorts, to bringing flashy clothes from overseas, to opening brick-n-mortar stores in the Basque Country, to organizing ASP awarded contests and strengthening ties with international friends that would change us forever; surfers, shapers, glassers, photographers.... We have kept this Pukas business of ours for 50 years by embracing natural growth. The cascade of surf-related businesses over the decades (70s to 2023) came to us with little plan. Today we employ around 100 people and the secret is being loyal to surfing. Oh! and being digital making surfboards accessible to everyone via pukassurfshop.com.
3) Did you guys envision that it would become one of the largest Surfboard manufacturers in Europe / World?
Absolutely not. Nobody smart enough in business wanted to be involved in surfboard manufacturing. Messy places with crazy people manufacturing products that couldn't be built in bulk, transport with ease and had no margins? BUT, those places had the magic, the surf, the vibe, the truth of our sport, the beginning of it all. And there is only one long-term goal we all share, and that's being relevant to surfing for decades to come.
4) You guys have placed well in the STAB in the Dark where one of the best surfers in the world judges mystery surfboards only by their performance. Can you give us a rundown on that shaper from Pukas?
This SITD thing is such a team work! Guessing who the surfer is the main crack. We have trusted Axel Lorentz for more than a decade so he was the chosen one when designing and shaping the boards for these quests. But we have put lots of trust in our team of glassers, sanders and factory freaks to build them in great fashion. We have consistently made the finales since our first appearance in 2019. This format has put our surfboards in the feet of some of the greatest: Mick Fanning, Dane Reynolds, Jack Robinson or Taj Burrow just to name a few. The guys at STAB are too good to surfing for creating such great content.