South Oz grommet starts eco-friendly surf wax company
A young South Australian is tackling microplastics and chemicals in the ocean with an eco-friendly surf wax company that he designed for a school project.
"Sticky Pronk" began when 12-year-old St Leonards Primary School student Noah Pronk was assigned a school project to start a business with $20.
While searching for business ideas, the avid swimmer, West Beach Surf Lifesaving Club under 13s member, and of course, surfer, realised most surf wax brands have chemicals and plastics in their ingredient lists.
There was only one brand, based in Queensland, which he found to be environmentally friendly.
"So I thought I'd do something about it," Noah said.
"I did some research into how to make it, to see how hard it was, then a recipe came up and I started experimenting.
"Surf waxes are toxic and it's filled with chemicals, and it's not good for the fish. They are swimming in the sea with the plastics in it, then we eat them, so we're pretty much eating plastic, and I wanted to solve that — I didn't want to be eating plastic."
Noah's recipe for eco-friendly business success is simple: a blend of locally-sourced Kangaroo Island beeswax and coconut oil, which he says works just as well as other surf wax products.
The young entrepreneur said while starting the business has been hard, "we're getting there eventually, and it's going well".
A visit to the Sticky Pronk social media accounts shows a swell of praise for the youngster, who admits that the public response has been "amazing".
"We've had a lot of surfers comment to say good luck, great work," he said.
"None of them knew that other waxes had chemicals in them."
Taking care of business
Noah's proud mum Heather Pronk said her son was responsible for all aspects of the business.
She only helps out with his social media promotion — "he's not old enough to have an account yet" — and deliveries.
The school assignment began in September and is part of the Foundation for Young Australians' "$20 Boss" initiative, in which students are challenged to conceptualise, start and run a business with just $20 over the course of a school term.
Ms Pronk said the program was normally aimed at students in Years 8 to 10, two years older than Noah, who was in year six at his Glenelg North primary school this year.
"I think it's brilliant that he's carried on doing it," she said.
"It was just a school project, so they didn't have to continue with it once the assignment was finished, but he's really enjoyed it.
"Somebody shared one of his posts onto a surfing South Australia page and it just went crazy, so that was the week before Christmas, and it just sold out within minutes, and we've just had email after email requesting more."
Ms Pronk estimates her son has created about 200 blocks of the wax — or "a lot", as Noah emphasised — so far, and waves of orders for more keep rolling in.
"People are very understanding that he's just 12 and it's school holidays and he's just doing as he can.
"Somebody said to him 'oh you'll have to get it mass produced and do this' and Noah answered him and said 'no, I just do it myself at home, and that's it'.
"Noah is the only person who makes it, which is very good, so I just drive around to deliver it to the post office or deliver it, if it's a local one. Other than that, he's pretty much doing it all himself."
And he has no plans to stop anytime soon: "I'm hoping to continue it if it keeps on going well."
"Because surfing matters", as his self-designed business logo says.
Comments
Loving the hand drawn paper wraps!
Its pretty awesome how environmentally conscious our young folk are becoming
Happy New Year and good luck to Sticky Pronk !!!
Good luck with it noah i'll buy heaps of it
What a little champion. I hope he makes a fortune while also doing his bit for the environment. I don't want to know what a Sticky Pronk is though!
/prɒŋk/
verb
(of a springbok or other antelope) leap in the air with an arched back and stiff legs, typically as a form of display or when threatened.
"grysbok were pronking over tall tufts of grass"
Hahaha!
12 year old legend is more proactive in looking after the planet than virtually everyone I know - including myself.
Good work , Noah.
Go hard mate .
Cool Noah !
Keep up the good work !
All is not lost.Awesome to see a young fella who shows initiative and gives a shite about the enviroment..get a screen printing machine in the shed too and punch out some sticky pronk t shirts i,d but one.hope it all goes well and your business grows and you can be your own boss and work around the tides not an alarm clock..go NOAH...
Reminds me of the Honey Wax from the 70's. Can I suggest to Noah that he contact groms at surfboard clubs around the country and sell say 100 blocks @ $3 plus postage so they can sell to their mates for say $4. How can I order some to spread the word at 2291
Champion! Well done Noah!
No escaping Surfers burning most fuel from Jet/Jeep/Jetski to most remote locations.
No escaping Surfers burning more oil for Surfcraft/wetsuits/leggies/wax
Ironic that nature loving collective are destroying the ocean en masse.
If a Grom swims against the toxic tide then good for him, but just how eco is it?
Grom's formula was said to be invented back in 1994 by Roy Stuart.(re: swellnet)
https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/14936
Check for the Link to the fab long running home brew site re:
https://surfing-waves.com/howto/make_surf_wax.htm
*Common train of thought on Coconut Oil.
Coconut Oil is long branded 'Non' Eco/Enviro friendly as it is shipped from far away.
I could be wrong about Grom's Kangaroo Island El' troppo Timeshare pool scape.
*I'm from the 1970's buy local- zero packaging wax era.
(Jet/Truck/Bike fuel supply line + Double packaging might not tick eco boxes).
Think back to Surfers oil reliance extending to bagging a cake of interstate wax.
MRsinglefin is on the right track...
Perhaps licence recipe to local Groms to source/brew & distribute no wrap as '70's.
Grom's little steps at very least trip up the Pro Big Oil WSL Jetset.
[Coco'Loco AD] Sick of sticky rubber steering wheel crumbling away in your hands!
(2 coats of Palmer's Coconut Oil) Wow! It's like new again! [ tbb freewheelin'(c) 2017]
Brilliant. From one St.Leonard's lad to another, very proud of you. Think big.
Apparently PETA doesn't think beeswax is eco-friendly either. A bit silly but so is the irony that TBB correctly pointed to .
Right you are tubeshooter...
Grom's eco recipe passes oldschool pub test!
Today's tougher crowd- brand it part of the problem!
As tubeshooter says PETA/Vegans won't have a lick of the Beeswax or Honey cakes.
The Greens aren't too fond of barrel rolling the Coconut Oil
U.S. Eco 'Matunas' mysteriously turned Bees Wax cakes into Vegan Tofu blocks
'Secret ingredient' blended with Jasmine Root/Apricot Tree Sap/Raspberry Bush.
One look at farm's clay slopes. Secret is relabeling 'Surf Clay' as 'Surf Wax'
http://matunasco.com/
I'm guessing this is the first large scale deck brew of clay based~plant resin stabilizer.
We've all been stuck in this clay & it won't let go...add a stabilizing agent. Bingo!
Plenty of other sticky stuff...Nettles/Vines/Seaweed?
I'm unaware of any ban on 95% petro brew Surf Wax in National Marine Parks
Rather surfers giggle in the background as tourist swimmers cop sunscreen bans.
Pacific Island Reefs including Hawaii are leading bans on Petro Sunscreens
Australian National Parks ban Sunscreen while swimming in park's watercourses
[AD]Double your Grom's power grip with Eco Grom's -Non Slip/Non Petro Sunscreen.
https://seagullmilk.com/
I like it! Grommets crucify adults!!!! In a nutshell, again... see ya later scomo... ya corkhead...
Feral adults are festering away in the back ground!!!! 'It ain't cool for cats!!!! Kill the cunts!!!! Who brought 'em here anyway!!!! Good'ol uncle fester!!!! 'Whata about me faaarkin' performance aaayee!!!!'
Eco friendly eastern sea board feral adults lead the way into an old year!!! Again...'its 2018 forever, look at the signs yar dumb cunts!!!' Meanwhile 2000 trillion tons of eco friendly, save the planet explosives blow every seagull in the vicinity to smithereens!!! 'What a faaarkin' performance aye!!!! Again!!!! Them faaaarkin feral cats dun it aaaayyyeee mmmaaaayyytee...'
The eastern sea board is in a historical time warp... 'Its 2018 forever, its scientifical and shite... we'll save yas... look at ver signs aye... wot... aaaye... 2019... naaarr ya farkin' kiddin' me, look at ver faaarkin signs...' Hodaddy braithwaite shreekin' and squwarking his scone off... its a jump to the right, lets do the time warp again...
Whats what???!! The grommets have seen enough... 'see yas, get off our planet, this time just leave the cats behind, ya fucking ludicrous numbskulls!!!!'
How much plastic is in regular surf wax ?
Great work Noah, well done mate!
I almost gave up on the Wax chem makeup then bingo!
"Antiskid wax for board and manufacturing method thereof" 24/04/2007
'Clam' Good news...You can mould your own Plastic answer to suit your own brew.
(Antiskid wax invention)
Paraffin/Wax - 50% - 85%
Tackifier - 10% - 30%
Plasticizer - 0.5% - 20%
Dispersant - 0% - 25%
Inorganic Filler - 0% - 30%
(ATTENTION)
Wax Gurus Chinese Bible of Tacky Cake making...(Goal being #1 Tacky Wax)
Short Wax History /Stats / Stuff / % /Temps /Flavour /Colour for each & every recipe.
The A-Z of Wax will blow your minds...How many stirs? How may Revs?
Chinese cakes sell for $1- $3 / 500-1,000 orders.
The best I can describe patents as being a showbag from the House of Wax. (Enjoy!)
https://patents.google.com/patent/CN101045854A/en
If link doesn't work refer to opening Title / Date