Kane De Wilde, Nathan Van Vuuren and Jarrod Snow standing on RIIFT-enabled boards in the ocean, wearing wetsuits and standing in turquoise water. Kane De Wilde, Nathan Van Vuuren and Jarrod Snow standing on RIIFT-enabled boards in the ocean, wearing wetsuits and standing in turquoise water.

WHY RIIFT

John and Al the founders of RIIFT, standing on a beach at sunset, each holding a RIIFT battery and RIIFT Tracks. John and Al the founders of RIIFT, standing on a beach at sunset, each holding a RIIFT battery and RIIFT Tracks.

the duo behind RIIFT

RIIFT didn’t begin in a boardroom. John and Al wanted a system that was balanced, intuitive and uncompromising.
John from RIIFT wears a black wetsuit rides a large blue ocean wave under a pale blue sky. John from RIIFT wears a black wetsuit rides a large blue ocean wave under a pale blue sky.

It didn't exist

We craved something that made foiling more accessible for beginners, opened new possibilities for experienced riders, and didn’t ask us to sacrifice the feel of a great foil board. We couldn't find it. So we started building it.
A group of nine RIIFT friends posing together on a sandy beach with the ocean, trees, and sky in the background. A group of RIIFT friends posing together on a sandy Hawaiian beach with the ocean, mountains, and sky in the background. They are wearing casual beachwear and surf-related apparel, with one person wearing a bright orange long-sleeve shirt and another in a dark green shirt.

the RIIFT dream

Along the way, RIIFT became much bigger than the two of us, and we are ever-so-grateful for the contribution from our foiling community over the years.

A Team of Riders

What unites the RIIFT team is more than talent... though there's plenty of that. They're designers, shapers, engineers, innovators and relentless students of their craft.

They question assumptions, challenge convention and obsess over the smallest details—because they understand that the biggest breakthroughs are often invisible. 

Nathan Van Vuuren stands on a white RIIFT-enabled board in the ocean, with another person in an orange shirt on a board in the background under a cloudy blue sky.
Kane De Wilde standing on a beach holding a yellow KT RIIFT-enabled board. He is wearing a black t-shirt with a dark graphic logo that reads RIIFT.

They know that the art and science of foiling are inseparable. That effortless style is born from engineering. That podiums are earned through an uncompromising devotion to detail.

The best ideas aren't born in CAD alone, nor solely on the water. They emerge through a continual conversation between design and experience, where every session informs the next iteration, and every iteration is judged by a single question: Does it make the ride better?

Al and a shaper in a workshop, looking at a large, glossy light blue oval object in the foreground. The workshop has a corrugated metal ceiling, fluorescent lights, and various tools in the background.

A RIIFT collective

We haven't assembled a roster of ambassadors, we've built a collective of people whose ideas shape everything we create. They challenge our thinking, test our assumptions and raise the standard for what great equipment should feel like.

The result is more than a team. It's a community united by curiosity, intelligent design and an uncompromising pursuit of surf feel. Because the future of foiling won't be defined by the people who ride it best, it will be defined by the people who think about it differently.

Kane De Wilde in a black wetsuit rides a yellow RIIFT-enabled KT board on the blue ocean with white waves and a hazy mountain range in the background.

KANE DE WILDE

Kane De Wilde isn’t just one of the world’s best foilers—he’s one of the sport’s most influential thinkers. Equal parts athlete, engineer and obsessive tinkerer, Kane has spent years questioning convention and rethinking what’s possible on foil. From board design and hydrodynamics, to foils, wings and riding technique, his fingerprints are everywhere in modern foiling.

His curiosity has led to countless breakthroughs, but perhaps none more significant than recognising the importance of placing mass directly above the foil’s centre of lift—a principle that became fundamental to the RIIFT platform.

Jarrod Snow on a sandy beach holding a white and black RIIFT-enabled board with a long black pole, with ocean waves and driftwood in the background.

jarrod snow

A world-class downwind racer and one of the most respected board designers in foiling, Jarrod is living proof that craftsmanship and performance are inseparable. Every rail, rocker line and volume distribution has been tested where it matters most—under the feet of someone trying to win.

Jarrod’s obsession with balance, early release and efficient planing had a profound influence on the way RIIFT integrates into the board itself. His philosophy aligned perfectly with ours: don’t build around the technology, build around the ride. When your shaper is also the rider crossing the finish line first, every detail matters.

Nathan Van Vuuren in a black wetsuit stands on a RIIFT-enabled board in blue water with a dramatic mountain landscape in the background in Hawaii.

Nathan Van Vuuren

Born on Maui and now pushing the sport forward from South Africa, Nathan Van Vuuren embodies the rare intersection where elite performance and exceptional design become one. His effortless flow on the water is anything but effortless - it's the product of an obsessive pursuit of design and feel.

As a designer, innovator and partner at SPG Foils, Nathan understands that the art and science of foiling are inseparable. Every detail matters, because true performance isn't measured by complexity, but by how naturally it disappears beneath the rider. His unmistakable style is the purest expression of that philosophy: precise, intuitive and beautifully composed.

OUR SHAPING PARTNERS

Our RIIFT-enabled board network continues to grow. Our shapers around the world are dedicated in our mission to create the ideal platform for every rider... ready to upgrade with a power system.

kt logo
axis logo
Black SPG logo with 'SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE GEAR' text on a plain white background.
Black Sunova logo on a white background
appletree logo
amos logo
270 logo
amundson logo
jarrod snow logo
kalama logo
hailey logo
surf coast CNC logo
bold foilboards logo
Stinger Boards company logo
Two men wearing respirator masks and protective clothing stand in a board shaping workshop holding a large surfboard with RIIFT tracks. Another surfboard hangs on the wall in the background.
Two RIIFT-enabled boards standing upright on a light wood floor, one red with gray splatter and one lavender with gray splatter, both featuring a black central handle attachment.
A close-up of a RIIFT-enabled board with a black base and bold pink, white, and blue paint splatter design, featuring a black paddle seat mounted on top. Part of another board in yellow and black is visible in the upper left, and the boards are placed on a light concrete floor.
Close-up of a RIIFT battery and matching black paddle shaft resting on a wooden deck pad, with visible white and orange branding.

Huge shoutout to our amazing photographers Elliot Leboe(@acl_cinema), Mateo Dudu(@gurumateo), Adam Snow(@snowfoto_au) and Cody Marr(@silentislandfilms) for capturing all the RIIFT moments in and out of the water.

Jarrod Snow rides a wave at sunset, shown mostly as a dark silhouette against glowing ocean water and a golden sky. The RIIFT-enabled board is visible beneath the rider, and spray is kicked up around the surf face.