Post from SUP Business about Kialoa and Hinano Team up!

Come Together: Hinano and Kialoa Take the Paddle to Strategic Partnerships

Strategic partnerships, by definition, involve, well, strategy. With each capitalizing on the successes of the other, the partnership positions the brands in markets untapped or otherwise inaccessible. 

In June, at the Battle of the Paddle Hawaii,Hinano and Kialoa put their own spin on the concept, debuting a limited edition run of American-made paddles emblazoned with the logo of Tahiti's beloved brand. An idea rather than a strategy, the collaboration is a celebration of the coming together of two tribes. 

"For some reason we both just liked each other," laughs Dave Chun, founder of Kialoa Paddles, about Teva Fourcade and their initial ASR-fueled talks. "We're both island people. Both of our business come from the beach and we have certain brand images in mind. Hinano is a very authentic brand, so associated with Tahiti, and that authenticity is who we are and who we want to be." 

Hinano Summer 2010 Video

Another NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE on SUP

This Summer’s Hamptons

By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM

SILHOUETTED against a dying sun on a late July evening, more than a dozen Hamptons regulars eased into the warm darkness of Sagaponack Pond.

One by one, they climbed gingerly on top of what looked to be fatter, longer versions of surfboards. They balanced first on their knees, each holding an oar, before rising to stand tall on the boards. Then they quietly paddled off to a beach about a mile away. Gliding past cornfields and multimillion-dollar estates, they shifted their oars from side to side to the rhythm of a drumming circle in the distance. The sky turned lavender.