In just three short years a Gold Coast couple have created an evolution in electric skateboards and a revolution in their fortunes.
Evolve Skateboards founders Jeff and Fleur Anning sold their home and “put everything we had on the line” to produce tools, moulds and the first batch of 55 motorised skateboards in July 2012.
The massive punt paid off for the husband and wife team, with the first batch selling out within two weeks.
Evolve Skateboards earned revenue of only $50,000 in 2012, but just two years later the company is on track to record revenues well in excess of $2 million for their Australian division – and they’ve well and truly gone global.
Now selling their boards in 30 countries, the company has been named winner of the Emerging Business category at the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards for August.
It’s a bit of a spinout 
Jeff Anning - Evolve Skateboards founder
Passion turns to obsession, obsession turns to success
“It is a bit of a spinout,” a proud Jeff Anning says of the success that has come so quickly.
Electric skateboards have been around for a while, but the novelty was still exciting when the keen snowboarder and surfer first spotted someone ‘carving up the carpark’ at the Spit.
Mr Anning went straight online to buy one and was soon trying out his new toy, only to be disappointed at finding it too heavy and clunky – fine for commuting without having to push, but just not fun to ride.
“Most of the models I saw around were designed with a focus on simply adding a motor to a board, but take off the electronics and you would never want to use it as a normal skateboard,” Mr Anning says. “All made in China, the parts and components were pretty cheap and standard and that’s the riding experience too.”
Out of initial disappointment came opportunity – and exploiting a gap in the market with a premium product offering became a passion for the former landscaper who just loves the endless longboard carve.
“The landscaping business was hit by the GFC, our revenues were down and we were battling to get by,’’ he says.
After an initial quest for investment from large companies, the couple bit the bullet and decided to do it all themselves.
From the first prototypes crafted in a spare bedroom, to the search for the best wheels and molds and customising the electrics to make them as light and invisible as possible, the potential business soon evolved into an obsession and the Generation 1 bamboo street board was born. It offered a cool and sustainable design in lightweight bamboo and a battery range of 30km. The next unique evolution was enabling interchangeable all-terrain wheels for off-road riding with a range of 15km.
Cool product, cool marketing
In a ‘cool’ lifestyle product category, marketing was always going to be key to the company’s success – Mr Anning was clear that their market wasn’t going to be stereotypical ‘skater boys’, but an older demographic prepared to pay for quality, and who want the convenience of a ‘cruising’ commute, with carving performance.
The other critical factor the Annings were clear about was the power of the internet – the company has grown almost entirely through sophisticated digital sales and marketing and the power of social media. Quality video (local company Fotomedia won an Australian Cinematography Society silver award for their promo videos) helped secure global social shares, and now raving fans regularly share their love for the boards in their own online clips.
“Each person who gets a board is a walking (or riding) advertisement, we love having passionate customers and generating a real community vibe. Customers have even created Evolve Skateboard Facebook group pages in different languages,” Mr Anning says.
Celebrity fans have certainly helped – including the likes of Felix Baumgartner, a thrill-seeking sky diver who jumped from the Earth’s stratosphere, US television personality Conan O’Brien and several Olympians.
The internet has also led to global distribution opportunities beyond their dreams – every single distributor found them online and approached the fledgling company to grab a piece of the action.
Maintaining design and proto-typing in Australia and controlling manufacturing in China with their own custom tools and molds has enabled Evolve Skateboards to keep quality high and costs realistic, allowing them to expand into global distribution which they couldn’t have done from a local manufacturing base.
“Our intention was never to do what we are doing now with so many distributors, but that’s globalisation for you – working with China has enabled us to work with the rest of the world.”
The latest design evolution is the carbon series – the first electric skateboard in the world to be designed with the electronics concealed within the deck, in a lighter, stronger, high-performance design. Street riding affords a range of 45km, while the board is capable of up to 30km off-road. The second generation bamboo board is sleek with design improvements, and as the company name promises, the evolution will continue.
And on the marketing front, a new design and promotional collaboration with New York-based professional longboard brand Bustin, who are supplying the decks for a limited edition Evolve electronic board, is a smart move in global brand association.
Evolve Skateboards, along with August’s other winners, are now in contention to take out the annual awards which will be presented at a gala function at Jupiters Hotel and Casino in November.
In the other categories Pacific Coast Plumbing cleaned up the Family Business section; Projects Queensland built a winning platform in Manufacturing and Construction; Opmantek won the Mayor’s Innovation trophy; Coolabah Trees Cafés took the Retail, Wholesale and Distribution prize; Bob Wood Cruise Group led the way in Tourism, Hospitality and Events; Red and White Group claimed the honours in Trades, Professions and Services; ONGC Systems claimed the Knowledge Management and IT honours; garment maker Purebrandz won the Environment and Sustainability award and Medical Rescue carried away the Health and Wellbeing trophy.
The Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards are recognised as the region’s most prestigious business awards scheme. Launched in 1996, the awards highlight the strength and diversity of the Gold Coast as a business hub with previous winners including international boat builder Riviera, national coffee franchisor Zaraffa’s and international marina builder Superior.
For more information on how to enter the awards, visit the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards website.
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