With the ski-ing season underway in Europe and North America, things are starting to get busy for Lewey Payne. As the owner of Douk Ltd, which specialises in custom-made snowboards and skis, customer demand will be peaking over the next few months. But Lewey, who has recently relocated from Broadway to Unit 4A at Upton Business Centre, is full of optimism.
Building a snowboard is a complex procedure as Lewey explains as it involves layers of plastic, metal and other elements such as carbon fibre and fibre glass being pressed together and then topped with a layer of brightly printed graphics which are customised to order. The whole board is then pressed together and baked in Douk’s bespoke ski/snowboard press.
Aesthetics matter for snowboarding and ski-ing enthusiasts and for this reason Douk offers customers the chance to come in and build their own snowboard and skis. At the end of the day the customer leaves with their new ride, having designed it to their exact requirements.
Lewey has also capitalised on the community side of the sport by offering snowboard camps in Slovakia and France. These offer a chance to connect with fellow riders, benefit from coaching and try out the full range of Douk snowboards.
Looking ahead to the future, Lewey is keen to take on an apprentice since he started as an apprentice at Douk almost 10 years ago. For now, he’s grateful to friends and family for helping him out during busy times and is settling in at Upton. The unit is ideally located for Lewey, who lives in Pershore, and for visitors who travel from all over the world for Douk’s experience days.
With the pandemic now a distant memory, people are starting to get back into snowboarding and this explains the popularity of the snow camps. There are business to business opportunities too, with alcohol and tech companies who are keen to get involved and add their branding to Douk’s snowboards. All this bodes well for an exciting future for this innovative business.