Our Story
Before founder Chad Pace could walk he spent his life on the water with his family…
Life was always about exploring the waters of his hometown of North Avoca, the beach, swimming, fishing and surfing. Watersports were part of everyday life and it was these formative years and then his teenage years spent most notably surfing at every waking hour. These would combine with his entrepreneurial upbringing, instilled from him growing up in his family business. In 2010, Weekend Warrior was born.
It has been an adventure from the beginning
Chad had just left his family business of rotational moulding plastic water tanks and had a dream of combining his expert knowledge from the 10 years in the industry with his new found love of kayaks. After wanting to purchase a sea kayak that was robust and cheap and finding nothing on the market, it was evident that no one was doing an affordable range of kayaks. The dream began.
Chad tested the market, by buying 60 kayaks from a wholesaler in Sydney. It began by Chad taking to the streets and selling the kayaks from his ute and trailer, he was known to frequent The Entrance Road at Bateau Bay. With the ute and trailer he would sit down on the side of the road, weekend after weekend. His gut instinct would prove to be correct, there was a definite market. So this is where it all began as a kayak business. The family home soon became a storage yard, the garage was now full to the brim and every room seemed to be taken over with product. It was time to take this to the next level.
With his supportive wife Carmen they opened a warehouse style shop at Erina behind Graham Sharp.
Always growing and being inspired to keep evolving
It was 2011 and the warehouse at Erina was growing and so was the product range.
CMP Boards Australia was born in this year. Initiated from the growing sport of stand up paddle boarding and with a drive from locals who could not find a SUP board that they could afford. This was in 2011 and it was a newish sport here in Australia with well-known brands charging high prices. CMP Boards launched initially to the local Central Coast market and was a hit. It was evident when people started travelling from interstate that the countless hours designing, manufacturing and perfecting these boards had paid off! CMP Boards captured the beginner market perfectly; the range was built to make SUP accessible to everyone and affordable. It was in this same year the CMP soft board range was developed and distributed through most notably the ebay platform, which offered a commercial quality soft board at a wholesale price.
After 3 years behind Graham Sharp the business moved to a shop front still in Erina but behind Bristol Paints where it would remain for another 4 years. The expansion of the kayak and sup ranges including the addition of the Funky SUP range meant more space was needed. After 7 years in Erina the decision was made to concentrate on the one shop and the main distribution warehouse was opened to the public at Berkeley Vale and the Erina store was closed.
The dream continues…….
The business has become a large part of Chad and Carmen’s life. With three children, the kids share their parent’s passion for the water. They say they are more passionate about surfing and paddle boarding then they are about spending countless hours in the shop. But are always keen to help out and this is the beauty of a family business.
The goal of Weekend Warrior was never to be the biggest brand or have the largest range of products. It was to create a small range of affordable products the everyday Australian could enjoy. Backed with the best customer service you will find in the industry. The dream continues with almost 10 years in business!
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Fantastic product, great communication, very helpful , super fast delivery
