About

Gary Robertson-Owner, designer and shaper-AKAMAI Designs Gary grew up in Newport Beach, began surfing at 15, started designing, shaping and glassing surfboards in his early 20’s, working with many of the area’s best surfboard designers. After college, Gary spent many years traveling, surfing and designing boards in such places as mainland Mexico, Fiji, Costa Rica and several seasons on the North Shore of Oahu. In Hawaii, Gary spent time with legendary designer/ shaper Dick Brewer, whose rocker, template and rail design influence a part of the AKAMAI performance SUP line.  Other influences include Harold Iggy, Steve Boehne, Bill Stewart and longtime friend and shaping collaborator; Greg Pautsch.

Mission /Process:

AKAMAI was created to offer the ultimate in personalized , high performance stand up paddle design in the industry. Limited to 100 custom designs per year,  each AKAMAI board addresses each customer’s height, weight, ability, intended use, (  recreational paddling,  performance surfing,  racing or tandem surfing )  even the type of conditions or waves they will be involved in. AKAMAI boards are designed to perform better as your skills improve.  All designs incorporate time tested, contemporary template, rocker and rail configurations and emphasize smooth, stable and fast paddling. Beyond personalized design, available variations include ultra light blanks, a variety of fin set-ups, glassing materials and deck pads. We use only the finest leading-edge materials, constantly seeking stronger and lighter advances for our products.

Our process begins with a personal interview with designer/shaper Gary Robertson and he is involved in every aspect of design, material selection, graphics,  glassing  even instruction for beginning paddlers. Each board is a one of a kind work of art, never duplicated all handmade. Gary is insistent on the finest finished product, working with the most talented production staff in the business.