The JP in JP-Australia stands for Jason Polakow. It was actually thought that the Australian had a lifelong contract with the brand, even though he had not been directly involved for some time and sold his last shares back in 2013. However, Polakow has now announced that he will be taking to the water on Quatro boards and Goya sails in future.
"It is with mixed emotions that I say goodbye to my incredible 20 year journey with JP and Neil Pryde," Polakow wrote on Instagram. "I am thrilled to embark on a new adventure by joining forces with the remarkable teams at Goya and Quatro. It's an exciting new beginning with one of the leading companies in the windsurfing world."
Polakow's new boards in retro design
Polakow emphasises that he has known the people behind the brands - mainly Francisco Goya and Keith Teboul - for a long time and that they all live and work on Maui. "I know the dedicated people behind this company and have had the privilege of being on the water with the Quatro and Goya crew from the very beginning. They are my windsurfing family and I couldn't be more excited to be officially working with them. Together we're gearing up to ride some epic waves this winter, equipped with the absolute best gear!"
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In the post, Jason Polakow also shows his first new Quatro boards. They have the same look as the boards from his first sponsor, the Australian custom brand Strapper. At the beginning of the nineties, Polakow also rode his boards in yellow with a large wing design.
It is not yet known whether the departure of the namesake will have an impact on the JP-Australia brand. JP was created at the end of the nineties as an offshoot of F2 and later grew into an independent brand. With shaper Werner Gnigler and the then Brand Manager Martin Brandner, many F2 heads moved to JP in the course of the spin-off.
