Tom Wegener
Born in Redondo Beach, California in 1965, Tom was raised in Palos Verdes. He grew up drenched in classic Californian surf history, learnt to surf at Waikiki, honed his nose-riding at Malibu and chased big waves all over the Californian coast. He picked up old logs, quickly discarded by the shortboard revolution, and taught himself to shape surfboards in his parent’s garage.
Early surfing days
While studying for a law degree at USC San Diego, Tom was a team rider for the late, great Donald Takayama. He frequented Mexico on surf missions, made Super 8 and 16mm surf films and produced the Waterman TV Show. With his best friend Bill Bourke they wrote and published Southern California’s Best Surf in 1989.
Tom practiced law in Los Angeles, specialising in Environmental Law and was the Executive Director of the Surfboard Industry Association.
life in noosa
In 1998 Tom travelled to Australia to promote the Dan Wozniak surf film, Siestas and Olas; A Surfing Journey Through Mexico. It was there he met his future wife Margie. They had two children, Finley and Sunday, and set up a surfboard factory, producing classic style longboards and noseriders, under the Tom Wegener Surfboards label.
wood is good
In 2002 Tom started building hollow wood surfboards from paulownia, based on the balsa wood designs that he had ridden as a young surfer growing up in California.
Margie & Tom's home-based, all wood, surfboard factory was featured in Sprout, released by Thomas Campbell in 2004.
Thomas Campbell features the Alaia in The Present, 2009
The young Wegener family travels Europe promoting wood surfboards and Tom is named by Surfer Magazine as Shaper of the Year for re-discovering the complexity and advancement of Ancient Hawaiian surfing, through the Olo and the Alaia.
innovation
Tom Wegener Surfboards was awarded a Living Smart Award in 2012 from Sunshine Coast Council, winning the Smart Solutions Award for their green surfboard factory, producing wood surfboards.
dr of surf culture
In 2016 Tom completed a PhD on Surf Culture at the University of the Sunshine Coast and published his thesis, Surfboard Artisans: For the Love.
In 2020 he was elected as a Local Councillor of the Noosa Shire where he continues to advocate for the environment, small business and manufacturing, and locals living within the Noosa Biosphere Reserve.
film bio
Tom has been featured in numerous surf movies including; Ten Toes Over, Toes Across America, Siestas & Olas, Lines From a Poem, Sprout, Seaworthy, The Present, A Deeper Shade of Blue, Church of the Open Sky, Beyond Tradition, and Salt of the Earth.
SUNDAY WEGENER
Sunday was born at home in 2002 and grew up alongside her big brother Finley, playing on the beaches of Noosa. She has been hanging around her Dad’s surfboard factory since she was a toddler and learnt to surf from an early age.
sunday
After high school she pursued a modelling career which took her to Los Angeles. In 2022 Sunday returned to Australia and is currently studying a Bachelor of Design at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Influenced by Tom, Sunday is inspired to learn more about surf culture and history and is focused on developing her understanding of surfboard design and shaping skills. She is the inspiration for the reimagining of Tom Wegener Surfboards, taking Wegener Tool Co. into the future.
Wegener Tool Co. provides surfing tools for life - handcrafted Surfies (bellyboards), paulownia timber sheets and wood blanks, DIY kits and tools to make your own boards. With apparel, workshops and instructional videos coming online soon, we're here to help you make your own surfing life.