Initially, Travis Yamada, a welcoming, fun loving yet modest guy by nature, was totally turned off by the notion of surfing. A skate and snowboarding purist, he thought the localism of surf culture in the mid 80s Sonora, Cali (where he grew up) was inaccessible and unfriendly. Although, pre wake-board days, Yamada did surf behind a ski boat he stuck to the pavement and snow where the community felt more open, important and valued.

After moving to Oregon in the early 90s Yamada said, “My friends would want to go to the coast to surf and I would ride along and just ask them to drop me at the skate park. What I like about skateboarding is it’s one of the only activities you aren’t just judged on ability alone. If you show dedication and enjoyment as a beginner, you’ll be automatically accepted.”

It wasn’t until the early 2000s Yamada started surfing a standing wave in a certain now defunct, then top-secret, high desert canal ditch, that he fell in love with the sport. Finally in the mid 2000s he started ocean surfing. In order to afford and customize boards for himself as a novice, Yamada learned to fix up broken or damaged boards. He got so good, he did it for all his buddies too.

By 2009, Yamada was a grom in local surfer Kiley Remund’s World on Water custom board shop, housed at Cubicle’s current location today. Always contemplative and thoughtful, Yamada reflects that he wanted to do his time as an apprentice and understudy so that he would eventually be, “worthy of the craft of making boards.”

After honing his skills, Yamada started crafting ocean and desert ditch wave boards for locals. By 2016, when hype for the Bend Whitewater Wave and Playpark was in full swing, Yamada realized he could turn his glorified hobby into a career and business.

Today, Yamada is owner/operator of Cubicle Brand surfboards. His boards are proven models and have designs adapted to play waves in Bend, Boise and emerging Chelan, WA, as well as the ocean. Having an intuitive feel for words and marketing, Yamada chose to name his brand Cubicle for the homage and irony of his biggest fan base: Weekend warriors from cosmopolitan centers who spend most of the week behind a desk, in a cubicle.

Like any fine artist, Yamada has a refined understanding of what producing hand crafted boards means to him. “Cubicle transfers the ocean experience beyond saltwater. River, wake, powder, sea—whatever’s breaking, the idea is to enjoy the ride. While inspiration is derived from Pacific waves, progressive designs and materials underlie every Cubicle board in the quiver. Durable craftsmanship and constant R&D shape the process further, and obsession with detail sets the standard. Cubicle boards surf with precision and attack, like a performance ocean surfboard.”

Three decades of skating, snowboarding, and wave riding in Central Oregon funnel into each model. All this allows Cubicle to redefine how waves are ridden, no matter where the break. Yamada notes, “I shape innovative surf craft intended for exploring more water to ride and for pursuing freedom outside the office cubicle.”

Although every board Yamada shapes is custom (and retaining any retail product is challenging because of their popularity), there are models he uses as guides. Among many designs the No-Bite, Arroweed and Parkraker are the most sought after. The No-Bite is part of a series which includes the Under-Bite and the Over-Bite and stands out as a performance short board with a hidden squash tail for the Bend wave. The Arroweed is a combo of the Arrowhead and the Tumbleweed and pleases the masses as an all around and performance board that isn’t front foot heavy. Finally the Parkraker rounds out the collection as a modern fish and river board designed as a tribute to a friend and local surfer Pat Malendoski. Nunchaku, Darrel Bodger, Polygraph, Seasick, Short Board, Single Fin, Helio, Trekkie Hellio and Tumbleweed Graphite are all also boards in the collection.

If you’re looking to source custom fins, and other surf equipment, Cubicle is a retail dealer and sells top brands like LIB tech, Dakine, Catch Surf, Quiksilver, and more. Stay tuned for a custom Cubicle surf bag Yamada hopes will hit the market in early 2023.

Although Yamada notes Indonesia as his ultimate favorite surf destination, he loves the cultural vibe of Bend’s standing surf wave. “It feels like a backyard, mini ramp skateboard session. Unwritten rules like not staying on the wave for more than a minute really guide a democratized feel at the wave. Gerry Lopez really sets the river stewardship example for everyone by being the first guy to lend a hand to a beginner - which has made that kind of behavior common practice.”

Cubicle Surf is located at 61540 American Ln, Suite 160 in Bend.