Duotone Magazin No.01 2019

15 months ago I was confronted with a tough challenge: Legal and economic reasons forced us to come up with a new brand under which to offer kiteboard and windsurf products. In the beginning it felt strange to even consider this after spending 17 years developing North Kiteboarding from scratch to become the market leader. But right behind that dismay I felt a little glow of excitement … When we started internal discussions about the possibility of creating a new brand, it was obviously a huge shock for the entire Boards&More team. After all, the company had been largely born and raised on the North name for decades. But after letting the idea stew for a few nights, you could feel a new vibe growing through the whole company. Here was our chance to create something new and groundbreaking and completely our own. The opportunities sparked fresh and innovative ideas. Both long-time experienced employees and younger new team members got caught up in the thrill: Everybody was excited at the chance to have a determining influence in creating an entirely new brand. It was a wild, frenetic time. With the power of a new beginning the whole team pushed really hard to get Duotone launched in mid-2018. But in the end it’s not about us, it’s about you – our customer. Will you remain loyal to the company you’ve trusted for years, even now that we’re using a different logo? What’s in it for you? We care about creativity and setting trends. Innovation and progression are in our DNA, which is how our concepts become legends. Of course, we retained the knowledge base: All the know-how of years of development are still here for us to draw on. And the ‘us’ hasn’t changed either: not a single team member has left. We will continue to use the same proven materials, working with the same proven factories in order to guarantee the same high quality as ever. But being the same as before is not what Duotone is about. We are committed to building on that knowledge and history in order to create something new, something better. It comes down to the essential question of all questions: Why do we kite? Why do you kite? Is it the deep experience to be challenged by wind and water? Is it the travel lifestyle of kite trips? Or is it the relaxing satisfaction after a good session? I guess everybody has his or her own answer to i t, but for everyone kiting surely is also a way t o break out of the daily life. For us at Duotone, k iting means passion – designing and building the b est kiteboarding gear is what we strive for! We w ant to stoke your passion for kiteboarding even m ore. Be it with stories that make you dream, with i nsights that give you inspiration, or with material t hat makes your next session just that one bit b etter. Feel the power of a new beginning! T H E P O W E R of a NEW B E G I N N I N G T I L L E B E R L E C EO BOA RD S & MOR E T R U E T R U E 10 1 1 P O S I T I O N