CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ARE synonymous with Marin life: hiking, mountain biking and now more than ever, stand-up paddleboarding. It should come as no surprise, then, that the vehicles for this pursuit would have local roots, too — and they do. The founder of Desolation Outdoors, Torben Yjord-Jackson, 25, was born and raised in Tiburon and is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. Yjord-Jackson was able to combine his love of sailing, stand-up paddleboarding and longboarding (better for cruising downhill than skateboards) and his passion for restoring, enhancing and customizing boats when he founded Desolation Outdoors in December 2014. The company manufactures and markets premium stand-up paddleboards and longboard skateboards that were designed here in Marin by leading naval architects and marine engineers. Desolation paddleboards are made using a sandwich laminate of carbon fiber and Innegra cloth, a kind of construction that offers the best strength-to-weight ratio. In addition to a full line of stand-up paddleboards and paddles, the company also produces longboard skateboards that are handcrafted from Canadian maple wood. PHILOSOPHY Desolation Outdoors, named after the Desolation Wilderness in the Lake Tahoe Basin, is focused on producing premium outdoor gear and making that gear affordable for the masses. THE SCOOP “By selling direct, we market our stand-up paddleboards, paddles and longboards at an unrivaled price point but still communicate with customers 24/7 by live chat, email and phone,” says Yjord-Jackson. The company warehouses its products in California and Texas and independently ships products to the customer’s door within three days of an order being placed. BEYOND MARIN Desolation Outdoors hopes to eventually open showrooms in areas like San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. WHAT THEY SAY “Our products are derived from passion and experience,” says Yjord-Jackson. “Marin County is a venue where we can easily test and enjoy all of our products by simply walking out the front door. You can find us out testing a new stand-up paddleboard along the Tiburon shoreline, or up on Mount Tam bombing down a hill on one of our 38-inch Speed Freak boards in the early morning.” desolationoutdoors.com
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
