Blue Planet

Blue Planet Surf Gear got its start in 1993 on the island of Oahu. Founder Robert Stehlik was a business student at the time and created the brand and business plan as a college project at the University of Hawaii. The concept was simple: unique surfwear and equipment from Hawaii- for surfers, by surfers.

The name was inspired by the view from an airplane window returning to Hawaii from the mainland. Robert says “We live on a Blue Planet, more than two thirds of earth is covered by water. As a business, we do our best to use environmentally responsible materials, conserve energy, recycle and try to minimize the impact on the environment and the oceans. We encourage our customers to do the same.”

Robert was an early and enthusiastic dealer of Ke Nalu paddles–one of our first. It’s a great pleasure to see our paddles in a shop with such a great reputation for carrying the best products and offering superior service. Exactly the kind of dealers we want to have.

Blue Planet was one of the first shops on Oahu to carry SUP gear, and is easily the most advanced and committed SUP shop on Oahu. They have a huge selection of products and cover the downwind and racing segment as well as surfing. They make a lot of effort to introduce paddlers to the sport of downwinding and provide information and equipment for people wanting to experience the renowned Hawaii Kai run. Here’s a link to Robert’s highly detailed explanation of how to do the run, which he prepared for Battle of the Paddle Hawaii participants

Robert has established a stock of rental demos of the Ke Nalu paddle. “It’s an easy paddle to sell once people try it, especially when they use it for a day and then try to go back to their old paddle. It just ruins people for a paddle that doesn’t perform as well, and the extreme lightness is hard for people to give up”.

Here’s a little video shop tour that includes a walk-on cameo of a Ke Nalu Paddle