Built the Hard Way

In a sport driven by innovation, it’s easy to get lost in the noise of new releases and big marketing campaigns. Roode Boards has taken a different route. No hype, no rush, just a clear focus on building something that works, and doing it properly from the ground up. The result is a brand that’s arrived quietly, but is starting to make a serious impact.

Some brands launch with a plan. Big marketing budgets,  a full range and polished messaging from day one. Roode didn’t do that. This is a brand that started with a machine, a workshop, and a simple idea: build a board properly, or don’t bother at all.

There’s no big personality fronting it, no loud storytelling. In fact, it’s almost the opposite. Marijn van Roode doesn’t want to be the frontman and shuns the limelight; he prefers to be in the workshop, getting his hands dirty, and lets the boards do the talking.

Over the 5 years the company has existed, they didn’t sell a product for 99% of that time; they worked on getting it right before getting it to market. Once they knew they had something, they looked at marketing on Google and social media, but decided to invest that money into a rider instead. Jamie Overbeek was already on the radar; he loved the way the boards had endless grip, perfect for big air riding.

Roode and Jamie cemented that relationship over the course of the year in 2025, working with him on prototypes and then signing him as a rider in November; their boards weren’t publicly available as Marijn was still refining the concepts, but it felt like the perfect time to support Jamie. After his week at Lords of Tram, where Jamie dominated the event and then smashed the WOO world record, it looks like the gamble they took certainly paid off!

When Jamie Overbeek took the win in Le Barcarès on a Roode Graphite, people started paying attention. When he followed that up with his world record of 42.3m in some insanely windy conditions, they started asking questions. Not just about the rider, but about what was under his feet. While everyone obsesses over kites, the board is still doing a huge amount of the work, and Roode exists because Marijn decided to focus on it.

“We didn’t start with a brand, we just wanted to build a board properly and see where it went.”

Like a lot of good ideas, this one didn’t start as a business plan. The roots of Roode go back to the Covid years, when work stopped, everything slowed down, and there was suddenly time to think. Instead of waiting things out, the decision was made to start building something.

The first move was buying a CNC machine. Not a small step, and not a casual experiment. It was a proper investment, based on one simple bit of logic: if you’re going to make something, make it properly. At that point, there was no real brand and no roadmap to selling boards, just curiosity and a long-standing habit of taking things apart and figuring out how they work.

The first thing cut on the machine was just a rough surf shape in MDF to see what was possible. But that was enough to get things moving, and from there the idea of building a kiteboard took hold.

“If you’re going to make something, make it properly, or don’t bother at all.”

Twin tips look simple, but they’re not. It became obvious very quickly that making a board that actually rides well is a completely different challenge from just making something that looks the part.

The first big decision was how to build it. Vacuum construction was an option, but for something that could scale and stay consistent, a press made more sense. That led to another project entirely, building the press itself.

That process took over nine months. This wasn’t a hobby-style press to make a few boards, but something they thought could function at scale in the future. It was a serious machine designed to last. The thinking was always the same: if you are going to do it, do it right, even if it takes longer and costs more.

“The first board wasn’t pretty, but it worked, and that was enough to keep going.”

When the first board finally came out of that press, it wasn’t pretty. There were air bubbles, rough finishes, and plenty of signs that the learning curve was only just beginning. But it worked. Even with a very basic bottom shape, it rode, edged and jumped well enough to show there was something there.

It then became a process of trial and error. Small changes, testing, refining, then doing it all again. Some ideas worked, others didn’t. One early version with heavily curved channels barely wanted to go in a straight line, constantly pulling into turns. It was unusable as a twin tip, but it proved a key point: what happens on the base of the board really matters.

That became the focus. Over time, everything came back to one thing: grip.

“We realised quickly that what you do on the bottom of the board really matters.”

Not just in a vague sense, but proper, usable grip. The kind that lets you hold an edge when the wind is strong and the water is messy. The kind that builds real line tension and gives you confidence on take-off. That’s where a lot of boards fall short. They feel fine in easy conditions, but start to slip when you push harder.

Roode went the other way. Every detail underneath the board was designed around that idea. Channels, concaves, release points, and angles all working together to give you something solid to push against. Because if you can’t hold your edge, nothing else really matters.

Right now, the range is simple: two boards, the Silica and the Graphite. The Silica was the first to come together and sits as the more all-round option. It’s built for freeride and big air, but also for everyday sessions, something that works whether you’re pushing your limits or just out riding.

“Everything came back to one thing, grip, because if you can’t hold your edge, nothing else matters.”

The feedback on that board has been strong. Riders jumping on it and immediately feeling comfortable, but also noticing how much grip it offers when they start to push harder. It’s a board that doesn’t demand too much, but still gives plenty back.

The Graphite takes things further. It shares the same outline and overall concept, but with a more advanced bottom shape and a more performance-driven feel. It’s aimed at riders who want to push harder, load more power and get more out of their take-offs.

One of the key features is the central keel-style shaping through the base. It helps break the surface tension on landing and improves tracking when edging hard. At the same time, the board is designed to stay light under your feet. That balance is important. You can create grip, but if it comes with heavy back leg pressure, it becomes tiring over longer sessions.

“You can have the best kite in the world, but if the board isn’t working, you’re leaving a lot on the table.”

A lot of that refinement came through working with Jamie Overbeek. At that level, feedback becomes very specific. It’s no longer about whether something feels good, it’s about whether it holds up under real pressure, long sessions, strong wind, big loads, and no room for weakness.

Reducing leg fatigue, improving release and keeping the board predictable when everything is maxed out were all part of that process. By the time Lords of Tram came around, the board had already been tested hard, but that was the first time it was out there in full view.

Lords of Tram is not an easy place to introduce a product. The conditions are extreme, the level is high, and if something is going to fail, that’s where it happens.

“It’s not about making loads of boards, it’s about getting a few things right.”

Seeing the board perform there, under a rider like Jamie, carries weight. Winning the event was one thing, but the consistency and control in those conditions said just as much. Clean take-offs, strong edging and the ability to hold it together when others were struggling.

Whether you focus on records or not, it showed what the setup could handle in extreme conditions, not just in testing.

What Roode is doing feels different in a market that often moves fast and focuses heavily on marketing cycles. There’s no rush to release a full range or cover every category. The focus is on getting a few things right and building from there.

“Seeing it perform at Lords of Tram, that’s when it stopped being a project and became something real.”

That approach comes with challenges. Production is still hands-on, every board is built individually, and growth takes time. But it also means control over the process and consistency in what’s being produced.

The next step is building a solid base, working with schools, shops and riders, and getting more boards out into the real world. Letting people try them, ride them and make up their own minds.

Beyond that, there are plans to expand. New materials are already being explored, with a focus on improving environmental impact without compromising performance. It’s not an easy balance, but it’s part of the long-term thinking behind the brand.

It’s easy to overlook the board in kiteboarding. Riders will often invest heavily in kites while continuing to ride the same board for years. But the board is where everything connects. It’s what turns power into edge, and edge into height.

If that part isn’t working, you’re always going to be limited.

Roode’s approach is built around that idea. Not flashy, not overcomplicated, just focused on making a board that does its job properly, every time you load it up. And based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s doing exactly that.