Meet the RYD Family — Behind the Boards in Cape Town
The surfers, shapers, and everyday customers behind every RYD product.
RYD started in Cape Town in 2014, built on one simple idea — that good gear shouldn't be complicated, intimidating, or only for people who already look like they know what they're doing.
Why Cape Town
There's a reason so much of what we build gets tested here first. Cape Town gives you everything in one place — beach breaks for beginners, points and reefs for the more experienced, and a community of surfers who'll happily tell you exactly what they think of a new leash or traction pad, good or bad. That honesty shapes everything we make.
What "the RYD family" actually means
It's not a slogan — it's the surfers, shapers, and everyday customers who've shaped this brand as much as we have. Every product on this site exists because someone told us what wasn't working, what they wished existed, or what almost put them off trying surfing altogether.
Where we're headed
RYD started with hardware — leashes, traction, fins — because that's where we saw the biggest gap between what beginners needed and what was actually easy to find. From there it's grown into boards, bodyboards, and everything that gets you from your car to the water and back. The goal hasn't changed since day one: seriously fun gear, for every kind of surfer, at every stage.
May the waves be good where you are.