By piling up strips of cardboard going to the trash, François Jaubert, managed to make boards lighter and as solid as the classics. And this globetrotter, based in Hossegor, hopes to capitalize on his technology to sell his skates via big companies in the sector.
One day in front of his house while living in Portugal, near the waves of Peniche, three to four large boxes of bicycles remained days in the street. The idea germinated to do something with it: “It was not possible to leave that there. What could we do with it? “recalls François Jaubert.
INSPIRED BY FRANK GEHRY’S CARDBOARD CHAIR
At the time, it was a surfboard that this ex-student in architecture design manufactures, inspired by the Wiggle Side Chair, the cardboard chair created in the 1970s by the architect Frank Gehry, but to make it a floating object. “I followed my instinct to create the board by cutting strips of cardboard stacked horizontally, gluing them together, before a layer of resin to make it waterproof. Fifteen prototypes were created by this great traveler who also lived in Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands: “Every time I did a board, I skated with the scraps…”
His surfboard was spotted in California at the Vissla brand’s Upcycle Contest innovation competition in San Clemente, and even had the honors of an exhibition at the Barcelona Design Museum in 2016. A lot of breakage and other problems on his surfboards. recycled surfboards, sent him back to study naval architecture and marine engineering in Brest to learn how to work with composite materials. “There, I understood that skateboarding would be the best product I could produce with my technology,” argues the lifelong skater, who made his debut on four wheels in Toulon when he was younger. “Christophe Seiller, my mentor from theEurosima [où il est cluster manager depuis 15 ans, NDLR], said to me: “Come here, we’ll help you develop your thing! “He put me in contact and networked with the entire ecosystem here. »
© Trashboard
TOWARDS A MICRO-PLANT PRODUCTION
After a year and a half of research and development in his workshop based in Anglet, his board, 30% lighter than a classic skateboard (1.2 kg), is now complete with a patent filed, pending the sales phase, scheduled for early 2023, for which he hopes to hire. After having succeeded in raising some funds, he intends to set up at the same time – ideally in Hossegor – his “first micro-factory”, with the objective of manufacturing 1,500 skates next year. In short circuit. “A skateboard usually goes around the world, here everything will be done locally”, but more than ecology and reduction of the carbon footprint, it’s “the trashy side, the image of cardboard in the garage, trash, which I like, it fits perfectly with the image of skateboarding, which remains in a rebellious counter-culture, where you don’t need anything but your board. »
François Jaubert, founder of Trashboard © JD
As for the lifespan of his cardboard skateboard: “It’s not good for the business, but it’s good for the turtles and the environment!” jokes François Jaubert, who guarantees its solidity. His goal in the next two or three years is to “succeed in collaborating with brands, rather than selling alone. Skateboarding has always been a subcontracting industry. My goal is to capitalize on my technology and develop my box with other products”, predicts the man who is already working on recycled cardboard skis, in a world where home delivery is increasing the production of packaging boxes.