Welcome to the Team: Andrew Gibbons

Words by Peri Roberts

Hey Andrew! Congrats on your new position with Naish, we’re stoked to have you. What led you into product design in watersports? What’s your background?
I’ve been doing watersports my whole life. My parents moved to Maui for windsurfing in the ’90s. I windsurfed as a kid. We moved to Australia when I was in middle school and I started working for a local watersport shop because I wanted to learn to kitesurf. I worked on the Northern Beaches at Windsurf and Snow... I got a job there at 14 in the shop doing grom things, and I taught myself how to kitesurf. We moved back to Maui, obviously staying in the watersports world, and went to university and studied mechanical engineering.

While that was going on, downwind foiling was taking off. I recognized I was pretty good at the sport and it could be an avenue for me to continue in a professional way after I graduated. While going to school I built my skills and reputation as a competitive downwind foiler and racer. When I graduated, Naish was hiring and I managed to get the job. It’s really just from a lifetime in watersports, some careful planning and life choices that allowed me to get here.

What excites you most about working for Naish?
Naish is a company that has always been on the forefront, but now is playing catch up. I see a lot of opportunity for growth and innovation, especially as a new designer coming in, and the company is starting from scratch in some respects. I have a lot of creative freedom.. so I’m most excited about my creative freedom and ability to design freshness. Bringing an exciting design perspective to the company is something I hope to do.

We can’t wait to see it! What’s your role on the team right now?
My job title is R&D Design Engineer. I mostly work alongside Noah, head Foil designer. I guess the roles are a little intermingled, but I’m mostly working on wing and foil.

You’ve probably had a few projects land on your desk already… what are you most excited to work on this season?
Probably designing a new downwind race foil for myself and the rest of the market. I’m really excited about getting the opportunity to create gear I would want to ride and race on, and being part of the final design inputs and iterations of the new foil system which is going to be released next year. I’m also doing my own design on the new race foil line and helping with getting the new foils set to come out over the line with a few last-minute touches.

Having that on-water experience would really benefit your knowledge on product design. How does your background influence your design approach?
It definitely helps to have ridden at a high level and have ridden lots of other good gear. I know where the mark is that we need to meet and how to get there.

If you had to define your product design philosophy, what would it be?
Definitely performance-driven, but user-friendly. User-friendly performance is a good tagline.

Where do you look for inspiration outside watersports?
Nature always has the answers. Looking at other marine species and birds, using biomimicry to get ideas for a good outline or planform or shape for something moving through air or water. Evolution has had millions of years to figure these things out, so it’s a good starting point. I also look at sail racing a lot – moths, WASZPs, the America’s Cup, SailGP. The higher end of the foiling spectrum and what they’re doing for different design aspects.

Does anyone inspire you in terms of design or approach?
Kane de Wilde has definitely been an inspiration for me. I get to ride with him a lot and see how he goes through his R&D process and the innovative products he brings to market. He doesn’t have a formal education in engineering, but is very self-taught and has a good product design head. I enjoy getting inspiration from how he goes about his design process.

Do you have a favourite setup right now?
I think currently it’s: …………………………………………………………………………………..

Sorry guys, we’re going to have to keep that one to ourselves for a bit! Don’t worry, you’ll find out Andrews favourite gear soon enough. Hint: they’re exceptional products that we’re really excited to bring to market VERY soon.          

 What’s one big challenge or opportunity you see in the future of product design?
Improving geometry and material design to reduce the end cost to the consumer. Foiling is too expensive right now, in every brand on the market. There are ways we can change how we build stuff to make it stronger with less expensive materials. I think that’s going to bring a real change in how we showcase foiling to the world and how accessible it is.

Keeping the customers front and centre, love it! What do you do when you’re not on the water or at work?
I’m at the gym a lot. I train cardio and weightlifting to stay fit and prepare for races. I do a lot of canoe paddling and like fishing off my one-man canoe. My girlfriend is also really into the water, so whenever we’re together it’s usually having fun in the water.

Give us the rundown on your racing – what events are you doing?
The main competitions every year are the Hawaii race season: Wet Feet Voyager Challenge, Voyager Downwind Challenge, Paddle Imua, Molokai to Oahu, and Maui to Molokai. The M2O is the world championship of downwind foiling, the biggest event every year. I try to make at least one international event: I went to the Northern Beaches Downwind race in January in Sydney. I’ve been to the Crozon Foil Festival in France. Most of the sport is based in Hawaii, but I try to have an international presence as well.

And finally: what do you want to bring to Naish across product design and the team?
I want to be a positive, contributing employee with innovative ideas and bring products to market that people like. I think that’s cliche, but it’s true.