Kyle Lobisser | Founder
Kyle began prototyping foil masts in his kitchen in 2016, shortly after leaving his role as a lead product design engineer for Apple. As an avid kitesurfer in the SF/Bay Area, foils opened up lightwind sessions when the surf was small or the northwest flow along the coast wasn’t blowing. Kyle graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and has a Masters in Engineering Management. He started his career at Boeing as a structural analysis engineer on the 787 dreamliner, the world's first primarily carbon-fiber based commercial aircraft. He then worked briefly on flying cars in Silicon Valley before transitioning to consumer products with Apple. Another startup brought him back to the Seattle area in 2017, where Cedrus remained a side project until 2021 when global supply chains broke down and the locally-made masts found their calling in newer forms of foiling like prone and wing-based. Kyle is kiting less with the arrival of his daughter in 2019, and transitioned to big boat sailing which can accommodate the whole family. He carries his wingfoil gear on summer cruises, and tries for an annual winter Baja trip to continue his foiling progression. Kyle has 12+ patents, many related to design and manufacturing with carbon fiber. He is passionate about the role of manufacturing in solving some of our biggest environmental challenges, so that his daughter can share the stoke of the oceans and mountains too. He is also an avid skier, mountain/gravel rider, and loves bringing lessons learned from other sporting goods to the foil world.
Drew Pennington | Customer Service and Support
We are so excited to formally introduce our newest team member, Drew! He comes to us from a local outdoor retailer, where he managed the shop, website, and all aspects of customer service. A Shopify ninja, Drew will take care of you, our customer, from your first email with questions to editing and fulfilling your order. As an avid Kayaker, he's very accustomed to the challenges of identifying, acquiring, and owning/maintaining your favorite high end watercraft. He's quickly coming up to speed with all aspects of foiling, and obviously leveraging the entire team at Cedrus for more challenging questions related to gear specifics. We know it's only a matter of time before he trades in his kayak for an e-foil, or perhaps he eventually helps us get into new markets with foiling kayaks! Until then, he's here to help you foilers out and we are so grateful to have him!
Scott Norrie | Head of Finishing
Scott also hails from Bainbridge, and has spent the majority of his career in automotive restoration. He has finished Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance winning cars, but can also rebuid engines and perform mechanical work. He's by far the MVP of the Cedrus shop, able to sweat copper air lines, build fixtures and equipment, all with an extremely high strength to weight ratio. He's a skilled artist, having painted art cars and motorcycles, and someday we hope to offer custom masts painted by Scott! Thanks to his experience and openness, we've been able to deploy one of the most advanced finishes in the foil industry with our UV cureable clearcoat system. When not finishing masts, he's found next door restoring a Porsche 356. When not working, you can find him ripping his mountain bike on and off the island, ski touring, hiking, surfing, or water skiing. He's learning to wing foil, and joining the local crew on downwinders that finish at his hot tub. We're incredibly lucky to have Scott, and honest when we say we couldn't produce masts without him!
Stasi Burzycki | Lead Composite Technician
Stasi leads all structural assembly work at Cedrus, both composite and metallic masts. While Evolution Surf and Wind are curing in their jigs, he supports Scott with finishing work and Kyle with other various shop needs from laser engraving to helicoil installation. With the introduction of Evolution Aluminum, he's now operating robots and refining the process. Stasi has an Associates Degree in Composites Manufacturing and Precision Machining, leveraging this background heavily while at Cedrus but also outside work as a professional sailor. From big boat to Tasar racing, Stasi is often found on the water or working on boats in the yard. Wingfoiling is his new favorite form of sailing, and he has foiled all over the world from Australia to the Gorge. Stasi is originally from Bainbridge Island, and is the first person to ever hydrofoil around the whole island! When the wind isn't blowing, you can find him riding bikes or snowboarding.