Rusty Surfboards Moving Production Back to United States

2025 will mark 40 years of Rusty Surfboards. Founded by the inimitable Rusty Preisendorfer in San Diego in 1985, the brand blossomed through the trademark hacks of Mark Occhilupo and expanded its reach into all corners of the surf market. 

But this week Rusty Surfboards announced the company is moving most of its production back to the United States. The company stated it’s realigning the business to focus on retail partners, improving the user experience on the website and reducing “top-heavy salaries.” Rusty announced the move in a release on November 2. Here’s what the brand stated on Instagram: 

Rusty Surfboards is realigning its business model with a return to the core principles that established it as one of the world’s largest and most popular surfboard brands. The company is committed to producing the best stock and custom surfboards while bringing the majority of production back to the United States.

In line with this commitment to returning to its roots, Rusty Surfboards has restructured its staff, moving away from top-heavy salaries and fostering agile, dynamic relationships with trusted partners and industry veterans to help guide the brand into 2025 and beyond.

Jen Cassidy has assumed the position of General Manager and will oversee all operations related to Rusty Surfboards. Working closely with the team to re-establish the brand in the custom marketplace, Cassidy aims to broaden the retail footprint with preferred retail partners while also updating the web experience for easier navigation and ordering for the B2C model. Master Shapers Rick Hamon, Hoy Runnels, and Pedro Battaglin will handle custom shaping duties in support of Rusty, as they have done for over 30 years.

While Rusty has been, and will continue to be, building boards in Baja California, these boards will be branded without lams saying ‘San Diego” and without handwritten signatures from the shapers. The main focus moving forward is a return to custom-designed, shaped and glassed surfboards built in San Diego California, supporting factories that employ craftsmen who have been building boards for decades. 

Finally, 2025 will mark Rusty Surfboards’ 40th anniversary, celebrating a commitment to cutting-edge design and performance, and will feature many limited edition releases.