From elite canoe racer to pioneering OC1 & OC2 shaper, Márton Buday has lived a life driven by passion for paddling. Born into a family of champions, his journey began in Hungary and flourished in Germany, where he won many international titles before branching out into dragon boat, surfing, and ultimately outrigger canoeing. Today, Márton is not only a top competitor on the European downwind scene – he’s recently won a highliy-disputed race in France on OC1 ahead of all the V1 — but also the founder of Nalu Canoes, a brand born from a desire to bring high-performance, lightweight designs to the market. In this exclusive interview with TotalPaddler, he shares insights into his athletic roots, the spark behind launching Nalu, and the evolution of his brand from a garage-built dream to a respected name in the outrigger world. Meet the man paddling at the crossroads of tradition, innovation, and pure ocean stoke.
Hi Mathieu! I was born in Hungary and grew up in a true “paddler family”. My father discovered his passion for canoeing at a young age and later inspired his brother as well. Both were not only highly successful as athletes in competitive canoeing, but they also went on to shape national top teams as coaches.
For us kids – myself and my cousins – the path to the water was almost predestined. We literally grew up with a paddle in our hands. The summers of our childhood were spent playfully practicing in different boat classes, learning, and developing. These were unforgettable times.
As mentioned earlier, I was exposed to competitive canoeing at a very young age. My father was a coach at one of the most successful clubs in Hungary, so training, discipline, and a
passion for the sport were part of my daily life from the start. Although I wasn’t always fully aware of it as a child, this environment left a lasting impact on me.
At around ten years old, I joined my first training group. Shortly after, our family moved to Germany. Two years later, I continued my paddling training there – and it went exceptionally well: at 17, I was selected for the German national team and capped my junior years with a world championship title. More national and international successes followed.
Alongside competitive canoeing, I soon discovered a new passion: dragon boating. What began as fun quickly became serious – our team, made up of many strong canoeists, was soon very successful. Together, we won numerous European and World Championship titles.
At the same time, my other great passion was surfing and windsurfing. I spent every free minute on the water – whether with a paddle or a sail. The only problem was: the conditions for these sports could hardly be more different. While canoe racing requires smooth, windless water, surfing thrives on wind and waves. It was simply impossible to combine both in a meaningful way – until I discovered the outrigger canoe for myself.
At first, I was hesitant because my first OC1 experience was on an old, heavily modified boat that was neither fast nor comfortable. But something about it grabbed me – and I began to delve deeper into the sport. I had never known the concept before, everything was new, exciting, and full of a sense of discovery. The first images from Hawai‘i deeply impressed me – that was when I knew: I want to do this.
This was in the early 2000s, before Facebook and Instagram – it wasn’t easy to get information about this sport happening on the other side of the world. In 2005, I finally made the journey to Hawai‘i to participate in the legendary Moloka‘i Solo. It was an intense, educational experience – under extreme conditions, with little ocean experience but a lot of enthusiasm. I realized how much I still had to learn – and that motivated me even more to improve.
Back in Germany, OC sports gradually gained popularity. More and more people got involved, and races began to take place all across Europe. It was great fun traveling from beach to beach to participate in competitions. I managed to win many of these races, but the real appeal for me has never been solely in the results, but in the competition itself, in the challenge, in the movement on the water.
I have now been at it for twenty years – and my passion remains as strong as ever. Every place, every race brings new conditions. It remains exciting, every time anew.
The race in Toulon went very well for me, better than I expected. It’s still very early in the season, and as every year, you come from winter training to the first competition, and you don’t know where you stand compared to the others. The week before, I participated in a small local race, and it went terribly – my heart rate was too high, my speed too low… So, I didn’t have big expectations for the race in Toulon. But every race has its own dynamics, so I gave it my all.
In the end, my strategy at the start was simply to stay with the lead group for as long as possible, especially since the conditions—wind and waves—had calmed down a
lot. In the lead group, I was the only one on an OC1, all the others were on Va’a canoes. It was also a selection race for the World Championships in Brazil. So the race started, a 16 km loop, where we paddled against the wind for the first 5-6 km. I stuck to my plan and tried to stay with Kardiol (e.d. France-based Tahitian V1 paddeler) until the turning buoy. That worked well, and I noticed that I felt much fresher than I did in the race a week earlier. After the turn, we had a long downwind section.
It went quite well, and I focused completely on the water and the waves to make the most of it. Occasionally, I looked over at Kardiol and saw that I was pulling away a bit. That motivated me even more to keep my focus and chase the waves. By the time I reached the bottom turning buoy, I saw that there was a good gap between me and second place. The problem was, it wasn’t Kardiol! At that point, I didn’t know he had trouble with his boat and had to drop out, so I thought he must have passed me on the outside and was already waiting for me at the finish. Joking aside, since I couldn’t see him anywhere, neither in front nor behind, I figured something must have happened. In any case, the tension eased a bit, and the last 3 km flew by quickly to the finish..
The idea of founding Nalu Canoes came about in Hawaii. I noticed how big the difference was between the boats built in Hawaii and the ones we had available in Europe. Not only
was the design better, but they were made from carbon and weighed half as much as our boats, which were mostly made of fiberglass. It was a completely different world and very far
from ours. At the time, there was no mass production, it was the era of small factories, and sometimes there were one-year waiting times. Getting a boat to Europe was almost unaffordable. That’s when the idea came up, why not take matters into my own hands and design and build my own boat?
The beginning was of course difficult. Harder than expected! How naive one must be to just build a boat that’s better and lighter. I had already started measuring the boats in Hawaii and collected a lot of data to have a rough idea of what works, why, and how. I had some experience from racing and then combined everything. The project started in my father’s garage, where he supported me as best as he could.
When I finished the first model and it worked really well, the next step was to improve the design and make it lighter. At that time, I also produced many boats for the scrap heap because they were just too bad to sell. I worked really hard and learned a lot about composites. The first boats went on sale, and I had so much fun with what I was doing that I decided to finish my architecture degree and shift to mechanical engineering and product design.
After graduating, I worked in the development department of a company specializing in carbon parts for aviation and motorsports. My task was design, redesign, manufacturing, optimization, and quality
control—basically the entire production process. I learned a lot about manufacturing processes with the most modern means. At that time, Nalu Canoes was still a side job, and I built boats on weekends and after work, always on order and fully customized to customer specifications.
Then came Corona, and the market changed from one day to the next. Supply chains collapsed, and in the composites field, it became very difficult to get materials, especially for small companies like mine. At the same time, individual sports were the only way to exercise, and demand was very high. So I was left with a pile of orders but no materials. It was clear that I needed to change something, this couldn’t continue. So I searched through my emails for acquisition emails from big manufacturers, mostly from China, who had offered collaboration. I picked the one I liked the most and reached out to
them to ask if they were still interested in working together. I think at this point I can say I was very lucky because the references from this manufacturer were extremely convincing, and as it turned out, they were also the ones who made the surfskis that a friend of mine distributes.
That was a huge help for us at the beginning, not having to manage the logistics alone. This led to the production of Nalu in the Far East. The decisive factor for me to move production there was the technology they used to build the canoes—prepreg carbon and autoclave curing. I was familiar with this from my job, but this process is pretty expensive, and that’s why it’s usually only used in aviation and motorsports, where performance is more important than cost. It’s the holy grail of the composites industry—prepreg and autoclave. This method allows us to offer much better quality than is possible with the usual processes. It was an investment in the future. I digitized my boats, optimized them in CAD, and sent the data. They CNC-milled the models and made the molds on-site. Soon, the first boats arrived in Germany, and they continued to arrive regularly. The performance of the canoes is excellent, and the quality is great! We are currently working on expanding our dealer network.
Our product line includes 3 OC1 and one OC2 canoe. To summarize the special features of each model: the Supersonic is our classic, the boat that started it all, but it has been heavily improved and is now in its fifth generation. It is a super all-rounder and always at the front in our European races. At the last French Championships, we took all the top five spots with it, and seven Supersonic boats were in the top ten. It is the fastest boat we have, and it glides particularly well in flat water, small waves up to 1.5 meters in height, and around the buoys.
The second OC1 in our range is the Shaka, which is more downwind-optimized and extremely agile and responsive. Matt Walsh won the Australian Championships with it last year.
The third OC1 in our range is the Supernova, which is basically a good mix of the Supersonic and Shaka, but for smaller people up to about 75 kg.
Our OC2 is called Synergy and offers a lot of fun in all conditions.
What sets our boats apart from the rest, aside from their outstanding performance—race results speak for themselves—is the good quality and attention to detail. Our boats have unique features depending on the model, including integrated wave deflectors, GPS watch holders, bottle
holders, a drainage valve with a membrane that prevents water from getting in, carbon iakos, and covers as standard. The idea for these features always comes to me while paddling,
when something feels inconvenient or I think there must be a better solution.
Nalu is based in Germany, and we have a warehouse/showroom here where we can showcase all of our products. If someone is interested in a test paddle, it’s easily possible.
Furthermore, we now have a steadily growing dealer network in many countries and continents, and you can find a list on our website.
Every dealer inquiry is welcome, and we always try to maintain a good relationship with our dealers.
We’ve just sent out our first shipment to Brazil, and we’re excited to see how our products are received there.
We are still a small brand and relatively new to the market. We try to make ourselves known through good results and by sharing the joy of paddling. We have some ambassadors, each bringing something unique, whether it’s Matt Walsh in Australia with his results, or Ryan James from the UK with his daily paddle content.
It’s important for us to have a good mix because not everyone identifies with race results; the fun shouldn’t be overlooked. We don’t just want to showcase our boats but also make them accessible in great conditions. That’s why, together with Philippe from Maeva Kayak, we came up with the idea for the paddle camp in Fuerteventura and offered our boats for it. This way, people can spend their holidays here year-round and paddle our boats in perfect conditions
The trends I see are that the performance level is continuously improving, and there is now much discussion about training plans and methods. There’s also a lot of conversation about proper paddling technique and exchanges happening. This shows that people want to improve and are on the right path.
Outside of Europe, I see many young people entering the sport and shaking things up. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite the case here in Europe; the main field is more or less over 40. But I’m seeing more junior classes at races, and hopefully, we’ll see more of that soon.
Another trend is the spread of the V1 class. Since the boats have become available through mass production, people are excited to try them out and learn. The advantage of the Va’a classes is that they have a federation with clear structures and world championships. This is something that’s missing in the OC sport right now. In OC, we have the Molokai race, which is considered the world championship, and that’s a fantastic event that should remain the pinnacle! But maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to host a second title race at changing locations, as is done in all other sports. That would help make the sport more popular in many parts of the world.
Thank you, Marton, for taking the time to share your story and insights with us—it’s been a real pleasure. Wishing you and Nalu Canoes the very best of success moving forward!
6th June 2025
In a sport where speed, glide, and stability define performance, outrigger canoe makers are constantly chasing the perfect ride. But a growing number of paddlers—and designers—are realizing that performance isn’t just about hull shape. It’s also about function, ergonomics, and the little things that make every session smoother. That’s where Nalu Canoes steps in, offering […]
