A New Vision of Surfing
What is Olaian?
The Decathlon brand dedicated to surfing, bodyboarding, and skimboarding!
Where Does "Olaian" Come From?
This name was inspired by the setting of the Basque coast around Hendaye, where our development center is located. "Olaian" is a contraction of "Ola", from the word "Olatu" meaning "wave", and the suffix "ian" which means "within"
Our Mission
Olaian wants to make every wave a playground; we want everyone to be able to improve their surfing skill while having fun, wherever the waves may take them!
The Olaian Development Team
Composed entirely of surfing enthusiasts, our team is motivated by a need to share their passion with as many people as possible by developing products that make surfing, bodyboarding, and skimboarding easy.
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Our Olaian Ambassadors
Selected out of over 900 applicants, our 20 ambassadors regularly launch into the water with our development team for some studying! Over the course of a year, our ambassadors tested new and innovative Olaian prototypes, fully equipped with new wetsuits, boards, accessories, and swimsuits. They were involved in the innovation of new products alongside our engineers, designers, prototypists, modelers, and product managers. They created new editorial and image content for our social media and blog and participated all year long in Olaian's highlight year.
The Watersports Center: Our World Development Center
Every day, in the heart of our Decathlon watersports research and development center, the Olaian teams test and prototype future brand innovations. A center of 4500m2 dedicated to product development, nestled in the Basque coast, just a few meters from popular surf spots in Hendaye, close to the surfers themselves. Our development center has grown to 200 people, half of which make up our team engineers, designers, prototypists, modelers, and product managers. To give life to their ideas, the teams have considerable tools at their disposable: a garage of creativity where rudimentary tools meet the high-tech world of 3D-printing and asset libraries.
In the very heart of our workshop is where modelers, prototypists, and designers make their ideas become reality. A workshop of 200 m2 dedicated to prototyping by hand, by machine, and by laser. To finalize projects and carry out tests, the development center houses a water test space equipped with a diving pit. Tests in real-world conditions are carried out directly on the ocean itself thanks to the center's key location surrounded by water. With this development center specifically dedicated to innovation, more than 1000 prototypes are developed and more than 10 patents are filed each year.
