Wilke Whips is a family-owned business founded in Pretoria, South Africa, by Kobus Wilke. He started the business while still in school, managing the challenge of balancing academics with entrepreneurship. After completing his matric in 2024, Kobus shifted his focus from managing school and work to growing his business, educating others about whips, and expanding the market. But let’s hear it from him:
“It all began about three years ago when my brother taught me how to crack his whip on our farm. At first, I struggled—I hit myself in the face, on my back, and even managed to twist the whip around my arms and legs. But there was no better feeling than that first crack from the whip!
Several years later, at one of my brother’s knife shows, I met Jaco Coetzee, a whip maker and member of the South African Whip Cracking Club. A few months after that, I attended a day-long training course presented by Jaco on how to make a kudu leather stock whip.
And that’s where it all began! After the course, I made a few whips—each one better than the last. But I still wanted to grow my skills, so I took a second training course on how to make a paracord bullwhip.
From there, I began making and selling whips, and I established the company Kobus Wilke Custom Whips, now known as Wilke Whips. My goal is to expand so much that anyone can crack and braid whips alongside me.”
