His passion for designing great boards is based on the hope that people will have a great time using them. He designs boards that are easy to paddle and perform at the highest levels in various conditions and for people of varying skill levels. Just about everyone should have an amazing day foiling on an Amundson shaped board.

John’s story has always been about the water and was born a third generation waterman. Growing up in Southern California, most of his family were surfers, sailors, divers, or all three. John was introduced to the ocean and surfing by his father who was a surfer, sailor, and lifeguard for most of his life. His father was introduced to the ocean lifestyle by John’s grandfather who was a master sailor who competed in several Trans Pacific races from California to Hawaii. 

At 15 years old John learned to shape, looking up to the local shapers which included Zen Del Rio, Joe Bark, Angelo Ferrara, and Chris Lundy. At an early age John knew Hawaii would eventually be his home and after high school he caught the first plane to the islands to start his new life. John has called Hawaii ( North Shore, Oahu) home since 1988.

John’s career started with a love of surfing and surfboards. In 1999 he was introduced to kiteboarding which instantly gave him new design concepts to work with. Along with a strong custom business, John worked with North Kiteboarding in their first years, developing their entire board line and rode as a professional athlete. After several years of pestering, John finally convinced the North Kiteboarding team that a dedicated surfboard for kiting was a good idea. Later that year, North was the first in the industry to introduce a kite surfboard into the market. The rest as they is history.

After kite surf design, John was allowed to open his mind and apply his talent to other design concepts like tow-in foil, tow-in surf, SUP and surf foiling. After seeing Laird Hamilton and Derrick Doerner adapt a foil to a tow-in surfboard, John, Brendan Shea and Guy Pere (North Shore lifeguards and watermen) collaborated, built and rode one of the first tow in foil boards ever.

Years later, Guy Pere was the spark that ignited another fire…… FOIL SURFING. After a design session with John and Guy, John fell in love with surf foiling. His passion led to working with a wide range of watermen and water women. His customer base ranges from small kids to the large heavy weights, beginner surfers to professional surfers and anyone with specific needs. From John: “The success of my designs is a direct result of working with my customers and using their feedback to improve my design”. 

John stays at the leading edge of innovation by constantly refining his shapes and testing them in all types of conditions and places. His boards continue to make their way across the globe and are loved by beginners and professionals alike.