My name is Cathal Sheridan, I am an Industrial Product Designer based in Co. Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. Huku balance was founded as a way of helping surfers and other board sports enthusiasts improve their form and technique out of the water, the brands’ identity has evolved in recent years focusing not just on boardsports but everyday lives. We all need a strong core and good balance and coordination in life, and the simplest way to develop this is with a huku balance board.
Huku balance is an environment first led company. We design, develop and produce our products using only natural materials that cause as little disruption to the environment as possible. We also build our products to last a lifetime, offering a lifetime guarantee on all our boards! Our products are also made locally here in Ireland, unlike some brands that are made very cheaply in a factory designed for mass production.
Setting up a business and the world coming to a halt in 2020 was incredibly challenging. Fortunately, we had just launched a great website in November 2019 and had everything in place to become a strong ecommerce company.
We have won some awards, been featured on TV and partnered with some great brands in recent times but my proudest moment was and still is hearing from our customers and how much they enjoy using our products.
Simon Sinek is an inspiration, one of his quotes being; ‘’People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.’’ The why is very important to me. As an industrial designer, I see a lot of useless products on the market, made from cheap, un-recyclable materials, I really did not want to create something that added to the current mess. Once my why was clear, things began to fall into place.
Huku was born out of adventure, Our boards helped us prep for our summer surf trips to France and our winters at home and Morroco. Without adventure, there would have been no need for huku, to begin with! Even today, for hiking, SUPing, and general adventures, our boards help us enjoy them much more.
We have been fortunate to have grown as a business over the last 18 months and we want to keep moving forward. We are planning on launching several new products and introducing huku to the rest of the world!
Don’t let fear or naysayers hold you back!
What more insight from fellow founders? Check out the Founder Stories of regenerative olive oil company Two Fields Zakros and indie magazine and publishing company Another Escape.
