Jarvis Boards Turns 10: An Unexpected Turnaround Story
When Jarvis Boards launched in Austin, Texas back in 2015, the mission was simple: build beautiful, high-quality paddle boards right here in the U.S. — boards that weren’t just made for the water, but made to last. We believed in American craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and the idea that what you build says something about what you stand for.
Ten years later, that mission still holds. But the path here? It wasn’t straight. In fact, at one point, the business nearly disappeared altogether.
This isn’t a story about overnight success. It’s about second chances, rediscovering what matters, and reviving something worth fighting for — even when it would’ve been easier to let it go.
The Austin Era (2015–2019)
Jarvis Boards was born in a small garage workshop in Austin, Texas, built on a simple but uncommon idea: that paddle boards didn’t have to be cheap, disposable, or mass-produced overseas. They could be functional pieces of art — handcrafted with care, made from real wood, and built to stand the test of time.
Over the next few years, that idea caught on. We built hundreds of custom paddle boards, each one shaped, glassed, and finished in-house. They shipped across the country and around the world — to lake houses, coastal homes, and passionate paddlers who wanted something better.
In 2019, the business took a new turn. Drawing from everything learned in the shaping bay, Jarvis Boards introduced a line of DIY kits and board-building plans. These kits were designed to help backyard builders — hobbyist woodworkers, shop teachers, parents and kids — create their own version of a Jarvis Board. The response was incredible. Over a thousand people have since taken on the project, many of them first-time builders.
But for all the traction, the business still faced the brutal realities of running a seasonal, hands-on production company. Maintaining a full-time staff during the off-season was proving to be a huge challenge. Eventually, the original founder had to make the hard call to shut down in-house board manufacturing, focusing solely on selling kits while figuring out what came next.
The Crossroads (2022)
By 2022, Jarvis Boards was at a standstill.
The kits were still selling — a testament to the strength of the product and the passion of the builder community — but the rest of the business had gone quiet. The production studio was closed. The shop staff was gone. And the founder, like so many small business owners, had hit a wall.
After years of grinding through the ups and downs of seasonal sales, managing staff, and wearing every hat in the business, burnout finally took its toll. The founder was ready to move on. Jarvis Boards wasn’t officially shutting down… but it wasn’t moving forward either.
It was a brand on pause — still loved, still viable, but uncertain about its future.
And that’s exactly when I stumbled across it.
My Unexpected Leap (Chicago)
At the time, I wasn’t looking to buy a paddle board company. I was just trying to figure out what came next for me.
Like a lot of people, the COVID years forced a career reckoning. I left my corporate job during that strange in-between season and started building custom hardwood furniture in my garage. Nothing fancy — just using the tools I had and the woodworking skills I’d picked up as a hobbyist over the years. Tables, benches, beds, dressers… whatever people would pay me to make.
It was scrappy, uncertain, and incredibly satisfying.
Somewhere in the middle of that journey, I came across a listing for a small paddle board company called Jarvis Boards. I remembered seeing their boards years earlier — clean lines, beautiful wood, unlike anything else out there. And now, it was for sale. The founder was ready to pass the torch.
Something about it stopped me in my tracks.
It felt like the perfect collision of everything I cared about: working with my hands, being on the water, and building something that stood for more than just making a quick buck. I’d grown up in the Midwest — born in Milwaukee, went to school in Sheboygan, UW–Madison for college, and eventually settled in Chicago. The idea of bringing this brand north and reviving it in the industrial heartland felt right. Like it belonged here.
So I went for it. No roadmap, no guarantees. Just a gut feeling and a whole lot of curiosity.
Stabilizing the Brand
Slowly, things started to stabilize. I put my energy into supporting the DIY community that had kept the Jarvis name alive — improving packaging, rewriting instructions, and launching a YouTube series to guide first-time builders through every step of the process. These weren’t flashy changes, but they made a difference. It felt good to know that the people building these boards at home were feeling more supported and successful.
At the same time, I felt the pull to get back to building full boards myself. Not just because it made business sense, but because that’s what I loved — the process of working with my hands to turn raw materials into something functional and beautiful. That hands-on craftsmanship had always been at the heart of this brand, and it’s what originally drew me in.
Still, I didn’t want to dive in based on instinct alone. So I turned to our customers and asked a simple question: If we brought back production boards — made here in the U.S., using refined construction methods and premium materials — would you want one?
The response was immediate and clear. We put up a waitlist, and within weeks, hundreds of people had signed up. That gave us the confidence to start investing again — in the tools, the space, and the systems needed to bring small-batch board building back to life. Today, we’re growing steadily and intentionally, scaling one board at a time.
The Rebuild Begins (2024)
In the fall of 2024, I started scouting for a new production space. Not just a workspace — a real studio where we could design, prototype, and build again.
We rebranded along the way — updated the logo, tightened the color palette, expanded our wood veneer options. I spent months prototyping, refining the construction process, testing materials, and rebuilding everything from scratch. Slowly, the shop came together.
Then, we launched The Statesider — our flagship All-Around SUP. Clean lines. Premium materials. Bookmatched veneers. Hand-glassed in our Chicago workshop.
That was our line in the sand. Jarvis Boards was back.
One important distinction: our new production boards are not hollow like the DIY kits. While those kits are designed to be more hobbyist-friendly, our production boards use a lightweight EPS foam core with fiberglass and thin wood veneers — a construction method that gives us the perfect balance of performance, durability, and aesthetics. This approach allows us to work with some of the world’s most beautiful exotic veneers, giving each board its own character while still performing at a high level on the water.
The Big Differentiator
We don’t compete with mass production. We go in the opposite direction.
While overseas brands race to the bottom on price, we’re focused on the things they won’t — or can’t — do:
- Full customization
- Whitelabel branding for hotels, resorts, and retailers
- High-end veneer work with species like Teak, Walnut, and Koa
- Domestic production using local materials and skilled hands
It’s not the easiest way to run a business. But it’s the only way that feels right.
What’s Coming Next
We’re just getting started.
Right now, we’re prototyping a full lineup of new boards — including Race and Touring SUPs, built in collaboration with a seasoned American shaper and craftsman. These are performance-driven shapes tested on the water and refined in the shop.
Beyond that, we’re exploring new categories to support the growing Midwest & global water sports community — from wakesurf and surfboards to foil boards and more. We’re building not just a product line, but a long-term vision for what American-made, small-batch board building can look like.
Closing Thoughts
Jarvis Boards is 10 years old. A full decade. And while a lot has changed — the location, the team, the tools — the core belief hasn’t.
We still believe in building boards that last. In making things the hard way, because it’s the right way. In using our hands and trusting our instincts. In doing things differently.
Thanks to everyone who’s built a kit, ordered a custom, or just followed along as we’ve rebuilt this thing. We’re honored to carry the torch forward — and we’re just getting started.
Here’s to the next ten.
—
Eric, Owner & Operator
Jarvis Boards
