World of Water is hundreds of miles from the ocean, but stepping into the cluttered and busy front office, it feels just a few steps from a Santa Monica surf beach.
Lynette Remund is talking on the phone to a customer. "You'll send over the EKG," she says, somewhat cryptically, and then adds, "and yes, we'll get your roller derby logo."
When she hangs up the phone a moment later, she smiles. "It is a custom order," she explains; a local nurse is ordering one of World of Water's hand-sculpted stand up paddleboards, and she wants to plaster some of the icons of her work and play onto the board. "We're hand-crafted from start-to-finish," adds Remund.
World of Water is a mom-and-pop shop, but perhaps not what you think of as a traditional mom-and-pop. In this case, Lynette has a tattoo on her shoulder and her bobbed bangs are tinted blue, and dad is a chill surfer, and a dog named Tsunami is running through the office. Her husband, Kiley, grew up near Santa Cruz, where he learned to surf and eventually shape surf boards. After they "lost (their) rear ends in '07" on property, Lynette explains, Kiley found a used windsurfer on Craigslist and retro-fitted it as a SUP. The first SUP he made wasn't perfect, Lynette confesses, but that humble beginning has quickly grown into a booming business of high-end, but remarkably affordable customized boards, and surf boards. If you want a tailor-made suit, go to Italy. If you want a custom-made standup paddleboard? Go to World of Water.
And, for suggestions about which lakes are best for paddleboarding, Lynette provides a few suggestions for regional lakes.
"Hosmer and Sparks," she rattles off, "so peaceful, Zen."
She adds, "Cultus, if you want to get freaky," explaining that that lake allows motorboats and kicks up waves and wakes for anyone looking for a bit more of a ride.
