This Wahiawā Shop Uses Invasive Albizia Wood for Everything, Even Surfboards – Hawaii Magazine

You’ve probably heard of the age-old question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? For the team at Bizia Surf, falling trees not only do make a sound, they also make an impact.

Founders and owners, Joey and Christine Valenti, opened a shop and café in Wahiawā on Oʻahu in 2023 with a mission to restore native forests while connecting the tradition of wave riding on Hawaiʻi-grown wood.

How?

By sourcing the invasive albizia tree.

This species is found all across the state and is one of the fastest growing trees in the world. Not only does it compete with and displace native species and modify nitrogen levels in the soil, it’s notorious for damaging houses, roads and other public infrastructure. Through the certified regenerative lumber program of the the couple’s Albizia Project organization, Joey and Christine partner with local land stewards in tree removal and forest restoration projects, playing an integral role in Hawaiʻi’s albizia wood restorative supply chain.

“It feels a lot bigger than us,” Christine says. “It’s not necessarily our work. It’s just the work that we’re supposed to be putting out into the world.”

Bizia Surf’s owners Christine and Joey Valenti.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf

The work is powerful and palpable when you walk through the doors of their shop. The albizia wood finishes showcase its beautiful and functional possibilities as the artwork and paintings on the walls amplify its charming ambiance. The café offers a variety of drinks and baked goods, serving as a satisfying pick-me-up while browsing through the adjacent showroom that also includes albizia wood home goods such as frames, lamps and charcuterie boards. The immediate attention grabber is the array of surfboards stacked side by side for surfing enthusiasts to lay their eyes on. Visitors and patrons alike have taken sight and are on board for the ride.

“When we opened the shop, the response from the community was overwhelmingly positive and supportive,” Christine says. “It’s so fun to get generations of Wahiawā families coming in and be excited about [this initiative].”

Surfboards made from albizia wood in the Bizia Surf café in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf

That initiative began when Joey worked on his dissertation in his final year of the architecture program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Through researching albizia and the efficacy in building with it came what Joey calls his “lightbulb moment.” That bright idea led to the founding of the Albizia Project in 2017. Seven years and well over a thousand tree removals later, the company stands tall as a key player in tackling the albizia problem and restoring the richness of Hawaiʻi’s ecosystem.

Today, Bizia Surf is turning heads in the local surfing industry, evolving the early chambered board blueprints of Dick Brewer, a legend in surfboard development, from a handmade approach to digital fabrication that includes 3D modeling. For Bizia Surf, it’s about keeping sustainability at the forefront of modern technology while also honoring the past.

“The wood beneath your feet gives you that closeness to nature and to the early surfing days,” Joey says. “It’s the board you want to really feel connected to the waves, the water, and Hawaiian tradition.”

A surfer riding a longboard made from albizia wood.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf

Through collaboration with renowned shapers, Bizia Surf offers six different surfboard designs wave riders everywhere can get their hands (and feet) on. The longboards, for example, have gotten praise for how they are sturdy enough to be great at holding noserides and walking the board, yet lightweight enough to make smooth turns and cutbacks. Singer-songwriter and Oʻahu native Jack Johnson calls his Bizia board “one of my best twin fins” as it goes fast down the line and holds all the way through the turns. Surfers can look forward to a new stringerless board in the future as the brand is currently prototyping and testing their latest innovation.

Inside the retail shop in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf

The retail shop, located in the same industrial warehouse as its manufacturing facility, also proudly serves as a hub for community events and a friendly gathering spot for those in the Central Oʻahu area.

“This is where we started and where all the magic happens,” Joey says. “I feel like it’s a responsibility to share that with the community and love it back.”

Ecosystem restoration, import dependence reduction, landfill waste elimination—three things Bizia Surf stands firm on about what they deliver. For the husband-and-wife team, it’s a calling far greater than profit. It’s helping people direct their dollars to purposeful regeneration.

The company’s mantra outside the shop in Wahiawā.
Photo: Courtesy of Bizia Surf

“It’s a promise that business is never going to come at the cost of our environment,” Christine says. “We offer easy ways for customers to engage with that promise so that the things they are consuming are contributing to a positive, greener, more eco-friendly future.”

So, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer is yes. It simply makes waves, in sound and in water.