Est. 2012 • Santa Ana, California
The POP Board Co Founder Story
How a spearfishing trip off the California coast, a borrowed paddle board, and three simple words turned into POP Board Co.
This is the story of how Nick Lanfranco built a California watersports brand around paddle boards, inflatable docks, boating, family, creativity, and the simple joy of being on the water.
The Beginning
POP Board Co was founded in 2012 by waterman and lifelong ocean enthusiast Nick Lanfranco. Unlike many brands born inside the surf or watersports industry, Nick’s vision came from the consumer side. It was shaped by more than 30 years spent surfing, fishing, diving, boating, and living life on the water.
Nick was not a paddleboard executive looking for a market. He was a guy who had spent his life on the ocean and saw a moment that changed the way he thought about who paddleboarding could be for.
The Moment That Started a Brand
One of the defining moments behind POP Board Co happened during one of Nick’s annual spearfishing trips off the coast of California with his closest friends and family. Stand-up paddleboarding at the time was still a niche hobby with very little mainstream recognition.
Nick had brought along a couple of borrowed boards. He thought it would be fun to introduce his father and one of his friends, both with zero surfing experience, to the lifestyle and freedom he personally felt on the water.
“Just pop up and paddle.”
That simple moment became the spark.
Within minutes, Nick watched his father and his friend laughing, exploring, poking at sea life, and experiencing the ocean in a completely new way. No training. No surf background. No experience required. They just stood up and went.
In that moment, Nick realized something the rest of the industry had missed. Paddleboarding was not just for surfers or hardcore watermen. It was for almost anyone.
The Vision That Became a Brand
As stand-up paddleboarding began to grow globally, Nick recognized something much bigger than a sport. He saw paddleboarding as a bridge connecting oceans, lakes, rivers, harbors, and people from all walks of life through one shared experience: the simple joy of being on the water.
That vision became the brand. POP Board Co was built with purpose, rooted in adventure, community, creativity, and the promise of delivering the same feeling of stoke, freedom, and connection that Nick experienced every time he stepped onto a board.
Doing Things Differently
From the very beginning, POP Board Co approached the watersports industry differently.
Instead of relying only on local surf shops, Nick focused on building a dynamic wholesale program in the watersports industry. He partnered with independent retailers and larger retail channels, helping place POP products in front of more customers across North America.
That dealer-first strategy is one of the reasons the brand grew the way it did. It is also why POP Board Co is still recruiting authorized dealers today through the POP Board Co wholesale program.
From Paddleboards to Docks to a Whole New Category
Through years of innovation and product development, Nick became recognized for helping modernize the traditional paddleboard market. He introduced vibrant, full-color inflatable paddleboards that made the sport more portable, more approachable, and more fun to own.
POP was one of the first brands to digitally print full-color art directly on a stand-up paddle board, a decision that helped reshape what a paddle board was allowed to look like in a retail showroom.
But the bigger innovation was still coming.
The POPUP Dock Changed the Water Day
Nick’s passion for invention led to the development of the POPUP Dock, an inflatable swim platform that became widely adopted throughout the boating and marine industry.
The POPUP Dock expanded POP Board Co beyond paddleboarding and into the broader boating and yachting lifestyle market. It gave families, boaters, lake-house owners, and marina customers a new way to add usable space on the water without a permanent dock build.
Today, POP Board Co continues to design inflatable docks, floating platforms, inflatable paddle boards, pumps, accessories, and boating-adjacent water gear around the same practical idea: make the water easier, brighter, and more fun.
What POP Board Co Is Today
Today, POP Board Co represents more than paddleboards and inflatables. It represents a lifestyle centered around adventure, family, creativity, and building products that bring people closer to the water, no matter where their journey begins.
We are still family-run. We still design in California. We are still focused on the same idea that started everything: that the right product, the right encouragement, and three simple words can change the way someone experiences the ocean for the rest of their life.
Just pop up and paddle.
That is still the brand.
See What the Story Built
Every product in the catalog is downstream of the story above. Start with whichever one fits where your day on the water begins.
What POP Board Co Believes
The brand is built around practical water gear with personality. Pretty gear still has to work.
Water Should Be Easier
No giant storage problem. No trailer if you do not need one. No complicated setup just to get outside.
Design Should Have Personality
Color, graphics, and energy matter. Water gear should not look like it was designed by a spreadsheet.
Families Actually Use This Stuff
Kids climb on it. Dogs scratch it. Coolers slide around. Real gear has to survive real lake days.
The Water Is the Point
The gear is there to get you on the water faster, not to become another thing collecting dust in the garage.
For retailers, marinas, resorts, and watersports dealers
Become a POP Board Co Dealer
POP Board Co still believes in getting real water gear into real stores, rental fleets, marinas, resorts, lake communities, and beach towns where customers can see it, touch it, and picture their next water day.
Explore Wholesale Opportunities
Made by US, Made for YOU.
POP Board Co started with a simple moment on the water. It grew into a catalog of inflatable paddle boards, docks, floating platforms, pumps, accessories, boats, and catamarans built for people who want more time outside and less friction getting there.
Thank you for saying YES to POP.