Pukas Surf: generations of passion

“For me, Pukas is about two things: one is surfing and the other is family, community” says Adur Letamendia, Director of Marketing, and representative of the second generation of surfers in his family. “My father started making boards for surfers in the 70s, and my mother made bikinis for their girlfriends. It was a bit of a hippie community at the time, offering lodging and food to visiting surfers in exchange for knowledge and know-how to improve the surfboards.”

Today, employing 52 persons and with that number more than doubling during the summer months, the company is active on multiple fronts. Alongside the Pukas surf brand’s products and physical stores in the Basque country, the company has its own manufacturing facilities as Olatu Surf, taking its name from the Basque word for ‘wave’, as well as the Pukas Surf Schools open in four locations across Spain.

Surf is a fast-growing sport in Europe, gaining visibility with the spread of artificial wave technology in pools and the upcoming inclusion of surfing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. With the market increasing, Pukas seized the opportunity to expand. “Financing the company has always been difficult. Even today, having gained credibility, it’s still difficult”, explains Adur, “We as a company need to grow, because we want a better workplace, better product, better athletes, and we need to invest to achieve that.” In the end, Pukas found financing in the form of a loan from Sabadell, supported by EIF under the EU’s SME Initiative.