Every good idea starts with a simple question.

Why can't we enjoy the wind while paddling as much as we do while windsurfing?

We are two friends – Tom and Márty. We've known each other for over 25 years, and sports have connected us our entire lives, especially water sports. In our youth, we spent hours windsurfing, and later we fell in love with paddleboards. But every time the wind picked up, we thought the same thing…

What a shame we don't have a sail.

And so, we started experimenting.

Our first "sails" were ordinary umbrellas. Honestly? They didn't last long. We destroyed a lot of them. But they showed us that the idea of using wind while paddling made sense.

The next step was an ultra-light sail resembling a spinnaker, which we rolled directly onto the paddle. It worked surprisingly well… but it only propelled us downwind, and it was difficult to steer properly.

We didn't give up.

We started thinking differently. What if the paddle itself could also be the mast?

We designed a telescopic carbon extension, a lightweight carbon paddle, and a new sail that could again be rolled directly onto the paddle. Suddenly, everything started to make sense. You paddle normally on the water, and when the wind picks up, you unfurl the sail in a few seconds, tension it with a light boom, and continue solely on wind power.

That's when our slogan was born:

Give your paddle wings.

We thought we were done. But the best was yet to come.

The first version used a reduction piece that connected the paddle to the paddleboard, similar to a classic windsurfing mast. But one time, we went to test on German lakes, and the reduction piece stayed at home.

First came panic.

Then we decided to just try it differently. We just placed the paddle with the sail on the paddleboard…

…and it worked.

And it didn't just work. It was even better. The paddle could be moved freely on the board, the rider could instantly change their center of gravity and sail trim, and the whole ride was much more natural. What started as a mistake became one of the biggest advantages of the entire concept.

Since then, we have never used a reduction piece again.

For many years, we made everything in the evenings in our garage. Just for ourselves, our friends, and the joy of discovery. But when people started seeing us on the water, they increasingly asked:

"What is that?"

"Where can I buy it?"

And that's when we realized that perhaps not just a new product was emerging, but an entirely new sport.

Years of development, testing, dead ends, prototypes, and endless hours on the water followed. Every change came from real experience, not from a computer.

Today, WINDpaddling is no longer just our hobby.

We are building an international community, we have founded a sports club, we train coaches, we are creating the rules of this new sport, and we are preparing the very first WINDpaddling World Championship.

And yet, our goal remains the same as at the very beginning.

To allow people to enjoy paddleboarding even when the wind picks up. Not to fight the wind, but to use it.

Thank you for being part of our story.

May the wind always blow in the right direction.

Tom & Márty

Founders of WINDpaddling