Marton Buday Elevates NALU Canoes at Molokabra 2025

This season has been a exciting  one for Marton Buday, founder and athlete of NALU Canoes. Dividing his time between racing and developing the brand, Márton continues to build a connection between performance on the water and design in the workshop. His approach remains consistent: test, refine, and apply what he learns in competition to improve every canoe that carries the NALU name. In 2025, his year was marked by strong results, including a second place at the Molokabra after three demanding 30km runs, and new progress for NALU with the brand’s first shipment to Brazil. These milestones show how his dual role as paddler and entrepreneur continues to shape both his perspective and the direction of NALU Canoes. As the season comes to a close, Márton shares his thoughts on balance, innovation, and the path ahead for the sport and the brand.

Hello Marton, what has been the biggest challenge or surprise you’ve encountered this year in your dual role as founder and competitor, and how did you overcome it?

Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to speak on your channel.
This year, the biggest challenge in my dual role as both founder and athlete has definitely been finding the right balance between competing and representing the NALU Canoes brand.

When I race, it’s not just about my personal performance, it’s also about showcasing our brand in the best possible way. My preparation goes far beyond training and nutrition; it involves preparing boats, equipment, accessories, transport, and making sure everything runs smoothly on site.
Once I’m at an event, I switch between several roles, providing service, advising customers, managing sales, coordinating logistics and somewhere in between. I still have to focus on my own races. All of this happens within just a few intense days.

What helps me manage it all is careful planning, staying calm under pressure, and always remembering why I started, because I truly love the sport and what our brand stands for.

I’m also very grateful for the weekends when my wife can join and support me, her help makes a huge difference and allows me to stay focused and keep the energy up for both parts of the job.

Over the past few months, how have your priorities shifted, both in your athletic goals and in growing NALU Canoes?

Well, I’m about to turn 48, and naturally that means the athletic side is becoming more challenging. To keep up with the younger athletes, I really have to turn over every stone, looking for those small details that can help me improve or at least maintain my level.
That includes nutrition, technique, mobility, recovery, and of course, how I train. I recently adjusted my training approach, and it’s been working well, I feel great, and the results reflect that. So, I believe I’m on a good path right now.

When we started NALU Canoes, our main strategy was to prove the performance of our canoes through competition results and it worked. Our successes include winning national championships on our canoes in Australia, Canada, across Europe, and most recently the Asian Championships. Strong race results help build credibility for the brand.
But over the past months, my focus has shifted a bit. What matters even more to me now is connecting with people at events understanding what drives them, what challenges they face, and how we can use our experience and know-how to help them reach their own goals.

You recently made your first participation in the Molokabra, finishing a tight second place after battling every race with narrow margins. What does this result mean to you now, with a bit of distance? What did you learn about yourself in those critical moments?

Ah, the Molokabra we could talk about it for hours! Honestly, it was one of the most incredible races I’ve ever experienced. The three-stage format is brilliant, it adds a whole new strategic dimension, turning what could have been just one great race into three unforgettable ones. The organization was flawless, the people unbelievably warm and welcoming, the location stunning, and the conditions… simply mind-blowing. Every single day offered the same perfect setup, there are only a handful of places in the world that can deliver that kind of consistency!

On the very first day of training, I made a mistake that almost cost me my entire setup. At the end of the session, while helping someone out of the water, the shorebreak caught me off guard and severely damaged my equipment. We were completely unprepared for something like this and had no spare parts available on site. Finding the right materials to do the repair locally was a real struggle, and with every hour that passed, it became more uncertain whether I’d even be able to race.
Just when it seemed almost impossible to find a repair strong enough to withstand the offshore conditions, my friends Ulisses and Loïc refused to give up. They worked late into the night, tracking down materials, improvising, and organizing everything with incredible determination. Against all odds and literally at the very last minute, they managed to pull together a solution that held perfectly.

I’m truly grateful to Loïc and Ulisses of Team NALU Canoes Brasil, for their persistence, creativity, and teamwork. Without their dedication and problem-solving spirit, I simply wouldn’t have made it to the start line the next day.

Before the start, the atmosphere was electric, and I couldn’t help but hope that the repair would hold. I felt focused, yet a bit anxious after all, everything was riding on those last-minute fixes. The first stage went surprisingly well, helping me get a feel for the conditions and the course. By the second and third stages, my rhythm and flow had really come together, and I could feel myself pushing harder with every kilometer.

In the end, I finished 5th overall and 2nd in the over-40 category. What really stands out is just how tight the competition was, I was only 15 seconds behind first place and 5 seconds ahead of third after almost 100 km of racing over three days. One perfect wave could have changed everything! The battles on the water were intense, exhilarating, and so much fun.
Looking back, just thinking about the Molokabra still brings a huge smile to my face and I already can’t wait to get back out there.
What I learned from the difficult moments before the race is the importance of patience and trusting the people around you and the process. Teamwork really makes challenges easier to overcome.
During the race itself, there were naturally ups and downs, but I managed to push through every weak moment and finish each stage with a positive mindset. That’s especially important in a multi-stage event to keep the feeling that the next day can be even better.

Thinking about your own performance, how have your training methods, race strategies or mindset evolved since April? Any particular breakthroughs or adjustments that made a difference?

There isn’t one single breakthrough, it’s more about consistency and attention to detail. Those small things add up and create a big difference. That’s something I’ve really learned to focus on.

My race strategy has remained fairly consistent: I try not to go out too fast, but stay close to the front so I can react when the right moment comes to use my strengths. When exactly that moment comes depends on the race dynamics and the day’s conditions.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m in a bit of a transition phase with my training. The time I have outside of work and family is limited, so I aim to use it as effectively as possible. Right now, training quality matters more than quantity. I control intensity more precisely, coordinate recovery and nutrition better, and make sure it all fits into my daily routine.

Overall, I’m very happy with my physical condition. One area I’m still putting a lot of work into is paddling technique, there’s plenty of potential there, but also plenty of work! I use video analysis for feedback, and I really recommend that to anyone. Quite often, what you feel during paddling doesn’t look the same from the outside. These days, with affordable action cameras, it’s easy to do and very effective.

Since our last interview with you, NALU Canoes has continued to grow with new innovations and even the first shipment of canoes to Brazil. How do you feel about this milestone, and what new directions or developments are you most excited about for the brand’s future?

We’re incredibly excited about our partnership and presence in Brazil. I truly feel that with Ulisses Calenti and his company Imua Brasil, we’ve found a highly professional partner who shares our passion for the sport and has the vision and capability to build up NALU Canoes Brasil. After spending quite some time exploring Brazil myself, I’m more convinced than ever that our canoes are a perfect fit for the local conditions, they suit both the environment and the way people paddle there.

Of course, the wheel of innovation never stops turning. We’re already working with great dedication on several new developments. It’s an exciting process, every new idea feels like a step forward for the brand, and we can’t wait to share some of these projects once they’re ready to be unveiled.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year (or next year), what are your ambitions, both for your athletic results and for NALU’s growth or positioning?

For me personally, there’s just one last race left this year, the French Championships in Toulon at the end of the month. That will be a real highlight and probably the conclusion of my 2025 season. After that, I’m planning to take a short break from training to recharge the batteries before setting new goals.

For NALU, this season has been highly rewarding, our canoes have proven their performance worldwide, securing national championship victories and strong showings. They’re truly making their mark on every continent, and the feedback is great, which is incredibly gratifying for our team.
I’m really looking forward to next year, both personally and for the NALU Canoes brand. I’ll keep tweaking the small details and try to stay on a good physical level  and at the same time, we’ll continue working hard to increase NALU’s international visibility and establish ourselves in new markets.

I also see the ICF’s efforts to integrate OC1 into the World Cups starting next year as a very positive development. I’m full of hope that this will help the sport gain even more interest and recognition.

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