JANGA Wetsuits & the man behind the revolt.

If you haven’t heard of Janga Wetsuits or seen one in the water by now you must live in some very remote location without an internet connection or simply just don’t get in the water enough, either way you’re sure to be seeing them soon.

Where I live the Janga revolution is in full swing, just a few years ago everybody in the water was in the standard black wetties of old from all the names you would expect, now is a very different story – the water is full of the bright colours of different Janga suits. It’s not just in the water either, you won’t walk down the street without seeing someone wearing a hoodie, t-shirt or cap and it’s people from all walks of life young and old, like think in their 80s old, it’s literally everyone. I live in Janga Wonderland…

I managed to catch up with the very busy Nuno Azul, the man behind Janga to ask him a few questions about Janga for Surf Bunker.

SB: How old are you Nuno and where were you born?

Nuno: I’m 42, born and raised here in Buarcos.

SB: How long ago was Janga born and how did it all start?

Nuno: Janga started late 2009 - I was inspired by the first generation of local surfing and the crowdless waves here in Buarcos. It all started from a conversation on the beach in Tamargueira (one of the long right hand point breaks of Buarcos).

SB: Who else was involved at the start of Janga?

Nuno: It was me and a good freind Sérgio Nogueira who is actually these days my partner in the company which runs my label (Janga). I remember I went to Sergio asking him if he could make a website for me, we got brainstorming and then we were like ‘this is not a website or platform for selling stuff this is brand with its own identity and with its own life’ you know…

SB: So what roles do you and Sergio play in Janga today?

Nuno: I am the owner of Janga, Sergio helped me in the first stages with designs and ideas. These days Sergio is my partner in the company that runs my label but he also has his own label within that called WOW Gang – so he helped me with the promise of being my partner and get access to the platform.

SB: All your suits look awesome… Where does the inspiration come from for the wetsuit designs?

Nuno: Ahhherrr (thinking)…. It’s a mix of concept, local inspiration, futuristic Japanese looks and the pro thing that we all have at some stage of our lives where we believe we will be on the WQS someday soon (laughs). So it’s a mix of all that and the Sergio’s ideas too. Every suit ends up with a concept and a message within.

SB: What would you say is the main between a Janga wetsuit and other suits on the market?

Nuno: There’s a few differences – Since we are independent we can do whatever we want and that’s a great advantage. We are not worried, you know like – hey what if this not going to be the colour of next season, maybe they won’t sell and if they don’t sell it’s going to make a mess of distribution with suits left in shops and it’ll all be a big stress.

So since we are small and independent we can do small runs, we can test, even if it doesn't sell that’s cool – it’s unique, it’s limited.

The other thing is the colours you know, I remember the suits from the 80’s colourful you know – the Instinct ones, the Victory ones. We wanted to bring those colours back, it’s funny because when we started it was a time when everything black and then there was a fluoro neon green suit in the middle of 30 people in black suits and people were like ‘hey what’s that!!’

SB: Janga has done a lot of collaborative work with associations and other brands. What’s been the most interesting, favourite or exciting collaboration you’ve done so far?

Nuno: It was making the first wetsuit for disabled people - that has been the main thing. We’ve been doing suits for other brands and businesses, which great because we are small and we need that private stuff to grow also.

But we have been challenging ourselves working on other things too like putting Android wearables into the wetsuits and other high tech stuff from some great big names in the industry… There’s lots of things on the table, let’s see what happens you know!

SB: What sports are Janga team riders involved in, is it all just surfing, how many people are in team Janga right now?

Nuno: That’s a big thing…. We wanted to give dimension to the brand so it wasn’t just focused locally or nationally so we spread the word though many channels and places – Brazil, the US, the UK, Spain, France. The team riders not only are treated like family, they contribute to all the media content which plays an important part of the identity for the brand.

At first, errr how can I say, it was kind of strange because – the surfers and the bodyboarders locally – they were really close friends outside of the water, but in the water they were not friend you know and we wanted to change that… So we started with what we knew which was surfing, then we had our friends from bodyboarding, then we met some really cool guys from skimboarding which opened our horizons to skimming. And these days there are guys involved from all sports: wakeboard, Jet ski… we look forward into investing in other areas in the future.

SB: What’s been your personal favourite experience of Janga so far?

Nuno: Getting feedback from all over the world, Australia, the US – people are stoked and they want to be a part of it, asking me ‘When when Janga USA’, ‘When Janga Australia’, ‘When Janga Brasil’. Just getting all this feedback with the brand gets me stoked, still with the same guys and the same desk you know!

But I think the greatest experience is still yet to come.

SB: Jangawonderland… What is it?

Nuno: Oooohhh… Janga wonderland is some fantasy place, which came into my mind from looking at Buarcos -it’s a magical place with good vibes and very few crowds. So this imaginary place Janga Wonderland ‘A place where the right handers are long and perfect’ was born.

We had friends from Germany who understood that and they wanted to make it more of a reality with their surf camp (Janga Surf Camp). Janga Wonderland is the area, it’s the Buarcos area, not Cabedelo, but I do love Cabedelo, not the North Pier (other classic close by breaks). It’s Buarcos from the start of the reefs to the headland.

I remember the days you know, when off shore winds were blowing all day on my back (in Buarcos), before all the buildings went up.

25 years ago when we started surfing with no wetsuits in the first winter – our first winter was with vicks, you know the stuff your Mum rubs on your chest, rubbing that on to keep warm. The second winter with a rash guard maybe.

Watch the video for a glimpse of thoose Janga Wonderland waves.

SB: There’s a fish on the inside wrist of all the Janga wetsuits…. Why is that?

Nuno: Ohh Yes… At a certain stage we wanted to put another message in the suits besides what’s in each model. The fish is the most common fish from the area, the sardine ya know – but the sardine wasn’t enough so we gave it some hair and some teeth to make it say - we are serious and we’re here to stay.

SB: In social media some people refer to you as Doc. Why’s that?

Nuno: Ahaha yeah, it was kind of at a stage of the brand where I just knew what each of the team riders needed for a suit based on their size and their personalities. I was like, errrmm, not their Dad, not their brother but the guy that they would come to see to get their prescription (Laughs)… (Janga’s first wetsuit was called the ‘painkiller’)

SB: Is Janga a full time job for you?

Nuno: Janga after 4 long years is still my part time job, its crazy I know. I wish Janga was my full time job, we would be so much bigger, Janga is for pleasure at this stage – it’s a business, it’s now been a registered company for 1 year and we are at a good place but I still have other things which take up a lot of my time, I would love to be doing Janga full time soon, let’s see what happens.

(Nuno also owns and runs a busy and very well know sea food restaurant at the Tennis club in Figueira da Foz called Forte Sta Catarina)

SB: What new sick things can we expect to see from Janga coming soon?

Nuno: Ahhh – sick new models (laughs), that’s the main thing, same with same Janga identity, but sick new fresh models.

The next big thing will be the Janga stores, not a big franchising thing but small specially chosen places. The first one will open in Peniche real soon, the second one will be here in Janga Wonderland, and there will be some other places too like the surf camp here and the crazy new warehouse in Holland. These are going to be some magical places where people can touch and connect with Janga stuff and we can get closer to the people.

SB: Where can people get their hands on some gummy Janga rubber?

Right now it’s online, anyone that connects with us online we will take care of and ship Janga stuff to them worldwide for free.

Now for some surf questions….

SB: How was your surf today?

Nuno: Oooohhhh, it was really good, it was kind of classic. A little crowded later in the session but early on it was just 4 friends. Can’t wait for tomorrow to do it all again!

SB: What was your first surfboard and where did you start surfing?

Nuno: I started locally with a piece of foam ya know like the kind the looks like what a fridge comes packed in. Then we got some bodyboards with fins in them in the 80’s. The first surf board was like a 5’6 twin fin crazy board, then came Mark Flemming from Free Flight and got us some Ferraris before we were ready ya know. Not like these days when you get a board and learn to stand up in a day, back then it took a lot longer ya know.

SB: Do you follow the WCT/WSL? If yes who is your favourite surfer?

Nuno: I gota be honest, I really love to watch it. I remember the times you had to wait for the Brazilian magazines to find out what was going on like 6-7 months after the contest… It’s great now you can just sit and watch it on the TV.

I still love Slater, I get really pissed off when he gets eliminated in early rounds (he says laughing). But I think Toledo is the ultimate guy, the Brazilians are just rocking the place.

I love to watch it.

SB: Who is going to win this year?

Nuno: I’m always crossing my fingers for Kelly to win the 12th time but I think Toledo will clean up this year.

SB: Can you describe how it made you feel the first time you caught a wave, got barrelled?

Nuno: It’s all about the vortex thing ya know, in life you can’t stop the clock but when you get barrelled it’s something where the time stops and when you spit out time starts again…

SB: What is your favourite wave surfed anywhere in the world?

Nuno: To be honest, it’s kind of err, not an embarrassment because I’ve surfed almost every day of my life here but I haven’t not been to Indo, I’ve not been to lots of places. I’ve been to Hossegor and all over the north of Spain but in my experience the best waves are still in my home town, in Janga Wonderland.

Probably the best session from memory was like 2 years ago in SS (local secret spot) with my friend Pedro… Ahhh shhh, I remember so many sessions: the North Pier catching the perfect lefts and in Cabedelo too catching so many waves and running back along the pier.

The best has to be here locally for sure.

SB: Thanks for your time Nuno and good luck with everything Janga!

If you’re looking for a sweet new suit then I would say look no further, these things fit like a glove, and they’re light weight, super stretchy and come in an awesome array of colours, designs and thicknesses.

Check out the online Janga store and follow Janga on facebook too.