Smorgasboarder 46
More surf fun for the Aussie and Kiwi winter....
More surf fun for the Aussie and Kiwi winter....
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winter grovelling, nice racks, pistols, gliders and loads of surfboards<br />
issue<br />
<strong>46</strong><br />
WINTER 19<br />
f r e e<br />
SURF MAG<br />
f r a m e d<br />
the life, times and work of craig levers
smorgasboarder<br />
sam mathers at raglan enjoying the winter wonderland.<br />
photo: craig levers<br />
foreword<br />
Winter’s a mixed bag. It’s when the ocean is at its<br />
wildest in some parts of the country and in others, it is<br />
when the sea resembles a pond. You just have to love<br />
the season for its unpredictability and that freezing<br />
water that awakens your senses. And just as you can<br />
never predict the weather, you never quite know what<br />
to expect with each edition of <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong>. Maybe<br />
it’s our short attention span or a few too many cold<br />
water icecream headaches at this time of year.<br />
In this issue there’s lots of nice racks, winter grovellers,<br />
pistols, gliders and a whole heap of eye candy. Don’t<br />
know what the hell we are talking about? Look inside<br />
and you will find out. It is always so much fun pulling<br />
each issue together. It’s our chance to present a really<br />
diverse mix of stories. We guess there is so much<br />
more to our surf culture than just riders on waves.<br />
Indeed, we are blessed to meet so many interesting<br />
characters in our travels and none more so than the<br />
former editor of New Zealand Surfing magazine and<br />
founder of Photo CPL Media, Craig Levers, who is<br />
our feature story. Craig not only has some amazing<br />
surf photos but such an interesting story to tell – a<br />
few good shark tales as well – a <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong><br />
favourite. And just in case you are not up with the<br />
latest and are keen to hear more from our interview<br />
with Craig, you can now tune into the <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong><br />
Podcast on smorgasboarder.com.au, iTunes, Spotify<br />
and BuzzSprout.<br />
Righto, by now you should be rugged up and comfy<br />
on the couch in front of a cozy fire or heater.<br />
Get reading!<br />
3
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smorgasboarder<br />
scan this!<br />
to get into listening at smorgasboarder.com.au/podcast/<br />
issue<br />
forty-six<br />
winter 2 0 1 9<br />
03 foreword<br />
08 stuff<br />
14 framed - craig levers<br />
26 surfing italy<br />
28 collective consciousness<br />
30 pistols in the desert<br />
36 rack 'em up<br />
<strong>46</strong> custom made<br />
50 gliders<br />
58 gear<br />
67 aloha barry<br />
cover photo<br />
sam mathers at raglan<br />
by craig levers<br />
WINNER<br />
BEST NON-DAILY<br />
PUBLICATION<br />
QUEENSLAND MULTIMEDIA<br />
AWARDS 2013<br />
FINALIST<br />
BEST NON-DAILY<br />
PUBLICATION<br />
QUEENSLAND MULTIMEDIA<br />
AWARDS 2017<br />
want to get your hands on a copy?<br />
there’s three ways to score yourself a<br />
copy of smorgasboarder.<br />
1) subscribe - the mag is still free - you<br />
just pay for delivery. 4 editions per year -<br />
$25 annual subscription (Aus and NZ)<br />
2) call in to one of the businesses<br />
featured in this mag - they’ll have some<br />
free copies. If they're not, they won't.<br />
3) download or read it online at<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
<strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> is published by Huge C Media PTY<br />
LTD ABN 3094<strong>46</strong>73055. All information is correct at<br />
time of going to press. The publication cannot accept<br />
responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements, or<br />
unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.<br />
The opinions and words of the authors do not<br />
necessarily represent those of the publishers. All rights<br />
reserved. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly<br />
prohibited without prior permission.<br />
listen up!<br />
the<br />
smorgasboarder<br />
podcast:<br />
full-length interviews and<br />
conversations<br />
enjoy an intimate listen-in with<br />
alex and dave, as they have<br />
interesting chats with interesting<br />
people about surfing, surfboard<br />
building and completely unrelated<br />
things.<br />
available on:<br />
iTunes/Apple Podcasts<br />
Spotify<br />
Buzzsprout<br />
(search for smorgasboarder and<br />
remember to hit subscribe)<br />
or listen on our website<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au for<br />
additional links and show notes<br />
6<br />
editorial<br />
dave swan<br />
dave@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0401 345 201<br />
editorial contributer<br />
alex benaud<br />
alex@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0423 950 235<br />
advertising<br />
tami argaman<br />
tami@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0<strong>46</strong>6 439 330<br />
new zealand<br />
jiff morris<br />
jeff@smorgasboarder.co.nz<br />
0220 943 913<br />
south australia<br />
jimmy ellis<br />
james@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0410 175 552<br />
design<br />
the team at horse & water creative<br />
mark, kate, helen, taylah<br />
mark@horseandwater.com.au<br />
accounts<br />
louise gough<br />
louise@smorgasboarder.com.au
YEARS
smorgasboarder<br />
stuff<br />
coastal sports kaikoura<br />
The cold water specialists. "We get you further and out there for<br />
longer. Not just your average surf shop, we believe in gettng you out<br />
having more adventures in the water or on the land, need quality gear<br />
we’ve got you covered, need info, we’ve been sharing our passion for<br />
the surf and outdoors since 2003. Same Location for 16 years."<br />
Call on +64 3 319 5028<br />
coastalsports.co.nz<br />
seventhwave<br />
"After a decent winter of testing<br />
we are excited to finally release<br />
our newest piece to the winter<br />
collection, and this one is for<br />
the ladies! 1.5mm of Yamamoto<br />
Zirconium neoprene in a super<br />
comfortable cross back tog.<br />
Worn under your suit with no<br />
bulk or restriction just pure<br />
warmth. They can also be worn<br />
on their own in summer or on<br />
your tropical holidays. Serious<br />
cold busters!! Getting out of your<br />
wetsuit in a howling cold wind<br />
just got alot more pleasant! And<br />
they dry so fast!! NZ made with<br />
our lifetime stitching warranty!!!<br />
(don't worry guys, the men's<br />
version is under development)."<br />
seventhwave.co.nz<br />
8
smorgasboarder<br />
stuff<br />
board traction for the 21st century<br />
Looking for a wax free traction solution? Contribute<br />
to a more sustainable planet with RSPro traction<br />
products.<br />
No more mess or missing waves while you’re waxing<br />
up! HexaTraction is a modular traction system to suit<br />
any size board and can be combined with our cork<br />
front foot deck grip where a greater level of traction is<br />
required.<br />
rspro.com.au<br />
waw handplanes<br />
The new WAW Handplanes BadFish is a premium<br />
bodysurfing handplane designed to turn beginners<br />
into pros and pros into experts. Australian made<br />
using ocean plastic harvested from our Great Barrier<br />
Reef, the WAW BadFish will have you catching Wave<br />
After Wave leaving nothing but cleaner oceans in<br />
your wake. Every purchase helps us clean more of<br />
our beaches.<br />
wawhandplanes.com.au<br />
photo: bryce wilson @wilson_and_co<br />
pedal and paddle<br />
Winter in The Paradise Coast, Whangamata is the<br />
perfect time to visit. Sea and land are both uncrowded<br />
crisp and clean. It is truly an amazing place especially<br />
at this time of year.<br />
Pedal and Paddle have extensive knowledge of their<br />
area and will send you in the right direction with all the<br />
right equipment. Simple fun.<br />
pedalandpaddle.co.nz<br />
real surf<br />
Real Surf can be found on the sunny (windy) shores of<br />
Lyall Bay, Wellington. They pride themselves on being<br />
a core store, run by surfers for surfers. Here you can<br />
find a huge range of quality surfboards, wetsuits and<br />
accessories, along with a full ding repair service and<br />
rentals for those without equipment. They're open 7<br />
days a week with a friendly and experienced team ready<br />
to help with your next purchase. REAL SURF is NZs #1<br />
Core Surf Store.<br />
realsurf.co.nz<br />
9
smorgasboarder<br />
stuff<br />
raglan surf emporium<br />
We here at <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> love a cool surf<br />
shop and the Raglan Surf Emporium located on<br />
Wainui Road on the way to the world-famous surf<br />
break Manu Bay is a ripper. The 1940’s structure<br />
that used to be an old coal shed holds some of<br />
the best surf brands in its four walls that scream<br />
everything surf.<br />
Their friendly and knowledgeable staff are also<br />
there to help you with your every need seven days<br />
a week…from a block of wax to the latest wetsuit<br />
by Ripcurl or Surfboard by JS Industries. Indeed,<br />
their hardware section has everyone sorted from<br />
the beginner to the hardcore.<br />
Raglan Surf Emporium also stock the latest<br />
season apparel from the leaders in the surf<br />
industry to have you covered from head to toe.<br />
Get everything you need in this one location so all<br />
you have to worry about is getting to the surf as<br />
quick as possible.<br />
quick tips<br />
• A must for anyone visiting the store for the<br />
first time is to pick up some of Raglan Surf<br />
Emporium’s branded gear. Famous artists like<br />
Ozzie Wright, Jamie Brown and Arnau Wilson<br />
have designed some amazing tshirt art for the<br />
RES crew.<br />
• If you’re a coffee addict like us, the best coffee<br />
in town is Raglan Roast - a must to start your<br />
day and the best way to recharge after a surf.<br />
Stockists of Rip Curl, Volcom, Vissla, RVCA, Rusty,<br />
RPM, Santa Cruz, Da Kine, O&E, JS Industries<br />
and HS surfboards. Surfboard and wetsuit rentals<br />
available for beginners to experts.<br />
Open 7 day’s per week 9am - 5pm.<br />
raglansurfemporium.com<br />
10
smorgasboarder<br />
smorgasboarder<br />
stuff<br />
winter blues<br />
at NZ Shred<br />
It’s the end of summer … No, no,<br />
it’s the start of Winter!<br />
As the sun arcs lower across the skies … mornings<br />
have a different feel. A crisp chill is in the air … Your<br />
fingers are cold first thing, and you find yourself<br />
vagrantly reaching to the back of the cupboard for<br />
your favourite hoodie.<br />
1. literally, let the ‘change of seasons’<br />
embrace you!<br />
As you smell the change in the<br />
air, switch your wardrobe<br />
around. Make a change from<br />
summer shorts and tees and<br />
get yourself a new flannel,<br />
knitted jersey or riding<br />
hoodie. These are super<br />
comfy, easily layered, and<br />
something new always makes<br />
you feel fresh and revived. The<br />
Burton Dryride series (in both<br />
guys and gals) has a great amount<br />
of tech for mountain riding, in what looks for all<br />
intense and purposes like your standard street hoody.<br />
2. continue to love the brands you love!<br />
So many of our summer<br />
brands now cross-over<br />
into winter ranges, and in<br />
doing so, are very techsavvy<br />
with their integration.<br />
Brands such as Roxy,<br />
O’Neill and Oakley have<br />
significant product all year<br />
round, for all seasons.<br />
Two worth pointing<br />
out for Winter 2019 are<br />
Ripcurl and Electric. With<br />
a significant piece of the<br />
sunglass marketplace,<br />
Electric has proven itself<br />
to have both style and<br />
comfort in a technically<br />
appropriate range of eyewear. This has extended into<br />
Snow Googles, where the EG3 and Kleveland pro-models<br />
are faultless. Along with Electric goggles, NZSHRED roadtested<br />
the Ripcurl Pro-Gum Outerwear series in Japan this<br />
year. Combining 4-way stretch and 37.5 moisture wicking<br />
technology, this Outerwear at 30K/40K is the ultimate in<br />
tech and performance.<br />
3. get to it, making plans …<br />
Always the best thing to get you through some hard times,<br />
is the chance to dream and focus on something ‘coming<br />
up’. Whether it be, a mid-winter trip to Queenstown for<br />
your boarding fix or the ultimate in snow experiences of<br />
a once-in-a-lifetime trip to that powder-mecca of Japan<br />
… having an embryo idea, developing it with thoughts of<br />
time spent with friends, and feeding it with where to head<br />
to and what kit to take - is often enough to shake off the<br />
doldrums of those initial ‘winter blues’. Get in with your<br />
local shop. Ask Us where we go, what we do … we might<br />
just give away some secrets to stoke you out for your next<br />
experience.<br />
So … get to it and start making some plans … Winter is<br />
just around the corner! See you in Queenstown!<br />
NZ Shred<br />
nzshred.co.nz<br />
11
smorgasboarder<br />
WIN!<br />
pack + rack*?<br />
... and supersize your prize!!<br />
WE HAVE A MASSIVE MIXED BAG OF AMAZING SWAG TO GO<br />
TO ONE LUCKY, LUCKY SMORGASBOARDER SUBSCRIBER!<br />
To be in the running to win all of these goodies (worth $500 RRP!),<br />
all you have to do is be a current subscriber to smorgasboarder<br />
magazine and drop us a line with the reason you love<br />
smorgasboarder to competitions@smorgasboarder.com.au.<br />
Our favourite compliment (or cloaked backhanded jab) will take<br />
home the bacon*<br />
1.<br />
So whats in the pack?<br />
1. BARZ SUNNIES $95<br />
3. HANDPLANE & FINS $190<br />
5.<br />
4.<br />
2.<br />
Barz Optics NEWLY<br />
released “Kiama” floating<br />
surf sunglass frame fitted<br />
with polarised grey lens<br />
and dual moulded non slip<br />
temples and nose piece.<br />
2. TRACTION GRIP $67<br />
Thin, light, easy to<br />
install and made from<br />
environmentally friendly,<br />
sustainable cork whose<br />
honeycomb shaped cells<br />
offer excellent impact<br />
absorption properties.<br />
The new Australian made<br />
WAW Handplanes BadFish<br />
is a premium bodysurfing<br />
handplane made from<br />
ocean plastic harvested<br />
from our Great Barrier Reef.<br />
It will have you catching<br />
Wave After Wave leaving<br />
nothing but cleaner oceans<br />
in your wake. Comes with<br />
Zak Noyle Blue DaFiNs in<br />
size 9-10.<br />
4. SMORGASTEE $40<br />
5. SMORGASHOODIE $60<br />
But wait! That’s not all…<br />
BONUS!<br />
‘Catrina’<br />
holds two<br />
boards and is<br />
crafted from<br />
sustainably<br />
grown<br />
bamboo.<br />
6.<br />
3.<br />
6. We also have a beautiful ‘Catrina’ Cactus Rack<br />
($429) on offer for the truly selfless lady or gent!!<br />
To supersize your prize to include the rack, all you have to<br />
do is subscribe for a mate too and let us know… Being an<br />
awesome person, if you win, you get the bonus inclusion of<br />
a $429 RRP surfboard rack to display your good virtue (and<br />
good luck!) to all and sundry!<br />
1. Subscribe at smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
2. Email competitions@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
with your best compliments...<br />
3. To upgrade your prize, tell us the name of the<br />
friend you’ve bought a gift subscription for!<br />
* inclusion of rack in prize is subject to a demonstrated purchase of 2 x subscriptions by the winner<br />
** no actual bacon is included... This is a game of mad skill, baby.<br />
12
smorgasboarder<br />
f r a m e d<br />
words: dave swan photos: craig levers<br />
14
smorgasboarder<br />
Internationally acclaimed and award-winning<br />
photographer and former editor of New Zealand<br />
Surfing Magazine, Craig Levers, chats with us about<br />
how he first got started in surf magazines and<br />
what he’s up to nowadays.<br />
Craig’s first serious foray into photography came when<br />
he purchased an old SLR from a friend.<br />
“I had done photography through school and when I was<br />
about 21 or so I got offered a cheap SLR from an old boss I<br />
used to work for in surf shops. He was selling his old camera<br />
and back in those days, which was the late 80s, cameras were<br />
super expensive. They had heaps of import tax on them so<br />
getting that camera was such a big deal. And as soon as I got it<br />
I was just like, right, this is it, I am really into this.”<br />
15
smorgasboarder<br />
f r a m e d<br />
“I’m a Born and bred Auckwhacker, which is<br />
derogatory term for an Aucklander. I started surfing<br />
out at Piha when I was 12 or 13 – Piha was about 40<br />
minutes from my home along a gravel road – and pretty<br />
much since then, I was just like, I have to figure out<br />
how I’m going to end up living out here. And just over<br />
10 years after that decision, I kind of figured it out.”<br />
“Interestingly, when I got into photography I very<br />
quickly realised that if you’re taking photos of<br />
surfing, you’re not surfing. And so, I didn’t want to<br />
do that. So I went more down a commercial route<br />
with my photography.”<br />
Craig wasn’t interested in fashion photography.<br />
Instead, he pursued commercial studio work. He<br />
figured this would enable him more time in the<br />
water.<br />
In his spare time however, Craig continued to<br />
shoot surfing. It attracted the attention of Mike<br />
Spence, the editor of New Zealand Surfing at<br />
the time who also knew Craig socially. Mike put<br />
Craig’s name forward for a gig at the magazine.<br />
“Mike was leaving the magazine and he put my<br />
name forward to be interviewed with the publisher<br />
because I was taking photos and I had had some<br />
of those published, and so he put my name<br />
forward and I turned down the interview. When I<br />
mentioned it to my dad he said, ‘what the f#ck,<br />
ring the guy back’. That’s the long story short of<br />
how I became a professional surf photographer -<br />
through kind of just knowing the right people and<br />
not necessarily or actively wanting to be a surf<br />
photographer.”<br />
Funnily enough, Craig ended up working for New<br />
Zealand Surfing for the next 15 years, moving up<br />
through the ranks to Senior Photographer, Photo<br />
Editor and ultimately Editor of the magazine.<br />
“It was amazing to be a part of it.<br />
“When I started at the surf magazine in 1993,<br />
we had a goal of doing one overseas trip a year<br />
and by the time I left the surf mag in 2008, I was<br />
doing two to three overseas trips a month. At the<br />
height of it, probably in 2006, I worked out I was<br />
probably overseas for something like 16 weeks<br />
of the year. We travelled the well beaten path of<br />
many New Zealanders: the South Pacific; Samoa,<br />
Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji and obviously Indo. I would<br />
spend at least four to six weeks in Indo.”<br />
Whilst it all sounds very sexy, there was obviously<br />
a great deal of hard work involved too. Hell, we<br />
here at <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> know it is not all waves<br />
and beers, although we have been trying our best<br />
to achieve that end.<br />
“It sounds glamorous and of course, there is no<br />
way I was not grateful for what I was able to do,<br />
but the fact is, you are carrying 30 kgs of camera<br />
gear, you are not taking a surfboard and you’re<br />
not there to go surfing. There is pressure on you,<br />
not just from your publisher, but also the surfers<br />
16
smorgasboarder<br />
17
smorgasboarder<br />
f r a m e d<br />
that you’re with and the companies that they’re<br />
representing to come back with the goods. The first<br />
person on a surf trip that gets thrown under the bus<br />
if there is no photos or a story is the photographer.”<br />
Nonetheless Craig’s days at the magazine were<br />
what he refers to as the “Golden Years”.<br />
“I mean, it was just absolutely ridiculous. You<br />
have to remember it was such a different world.<br />
People who might be only 10 or 15 years into<br />
surfing wouldn’t realise that in the early to mid 90s<br />
and the 80s, the only source of surf stoke was<br />
printed matter. There were sporadic dvds but the<br />
background of your consumption of surf stoke was<br />
print media and that was worldwide.<br />
“Surf Mags were<br />
absolutely the<br />
dominant source of<br />
surf entertainment for<br />
decades. And that really<br />
had its pinnacle in the<br />
early 2000s where we<br />
saw the surf industry<br />
become extremely<br />
buoyant. They had a lot<br />
of money and they had<br />
to spend that money.<br />
They were going,<br />
‘wow, we’ve got all this<br />
money to spend on<br />
marketing. Let’s send<br />
photographers and our<br />
team to Teahupoo, all<br />
expenses paid.’ It was<br />
awesome to be a part<br />
of it. At the same time, I don’t think we thought the<br />
bubble was going to burst, but there was definitely<br />
discussions in the publisher’s office that the internet<br />
was definitely going to affect us.”<br />
Craig was also very candid with his views on<br />
<strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> when we first arrived on the scene<br />
in 2010 and our whole ‘surf is free’ approach.<br />
“I think to be very honest, when I first saw<br />
<strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> it rattled me. Because all the<br />
work that we put in, I was going, well, it’s worth<br />
something. And here’s something that’s come<br />
along and they’re saying, well, the old school way<br />
of thinking and what we’re doing isn’t worth the<br />
cover price. However, that said, at the very same<br />
“I reckon Terry Fitzgerald<br />
summed it up years ago pretty<br />
accurately when he wrote a<br />
piece called Postcards from the<br />
Edge, which was about New<br />
Zealand. We have got incredible<br />
waves here, there’s no doubt<br />
about it. You just have to be<br />
Johnny on the Spot, which<br />
is so f#cking hard, given that<br />
weather systems move over<br />
New Zealand so quickly.”<br />
time that I could easily fall into that old school way<br />
of thinking, I was also producing a surf magazine<br />
called O9, which is the area code for Auckland.<br />
And that was a freebie that went into all the surf<br />
shops in the greater Auckland area and that was<br />
performing super, super well.”<br />
As I discussed with Craig, it wasn’t that we didn’t<br />
think the crop of magazines weren’t worth their<br />
cover price. After all, the team at <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong><br />
had come from a paid media background. We had<br />
simply seen the writing on the wall. We felt paid<br />
media was dead. The internet had taught everyone<br />
that if you can get all this content and information<br />
for free, why should you pay for it? It forced us to<br />
come up with a different<br />
approach and as they say,<br />
the rest is history.<br />
“You guys have been<br />
around for so long now that<br />
you’ve proven it. Another<br />
thing which I really like<br />
about <strong>Smorgasboarder</strong>, and<br />
especially the way you guys<br />
started, was that you very<br />
much started with the grass<br />
roots of the surf community.<br />
It’s easy to lose sight of<br />
who your reader is but you<br />
guys haven’t.”<br />
New Zealand Surfing’s<br />
approach was similar.<br />
Overseas trips aside, the<br />
magazine was very much<br />
aware of the appeal of their<br />
own local breaks and thus the remaining time was<br />
spent on numerous road trips along both the North<br />
and South island.<br />
“We knew our niche was reporting on and reflecting<br />
the New Zealand surf community and doing road<br />
trips is a huge thing here, more so than it is in<br />
Australia I believe. So as much as I was doing a<br />
lot of international travel, being on the road in New<br />
Zealand was my primary thing.<br />
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f r a m e d<br />
When pressed for his favourite surf spots on the<br />
North and South Island, Craig was pretty coy. In<br />
fact, if I recall correctly his reply was, “Yep, that’s<br />
them”. Thankfully he shared a little more with us<br />
citing the reason why he calls Piha home.<br />
“Home is where the heart is. The main appeal is<br />
its consistency. There is always surf and on its<br />
day it can be world class.”<br />
Craig also mentioned his love of the far north.<br />
“I definitely feel very much at home in the far<br />
north, that’s both coasts. I just love the adventure<br />
of being up there. And the fact that on that skinny<br />
top peninsula, there are spots where you can see<br />
both surf coasts.<br />
“You can go up for a west coast swell and check<br />
out the east coast at the same time and its 4 foot.<br />
So that’s pretty unique and you get to go fourwheel<br />
driving and do all that stuff.”<br />
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Home is where<br />
the heart is.<br />
The main<br />
appeal is its<br />
consistency.<br />
There is always<br />
surf and on its<br />
day it can be<br />
world class.<br />
I was equally keen to hear Craig’s perspective on my favourite subject<br />
– sharks. I asked him whether there were any places in particular that<br />
scared the crap out of him, hoping he would share a Noah story or<br />
two.<br />
“Yeah there is because one of my biggest passions still is taking water<br />
photos and I don’t really like going out in small stuff. I don’t think it<br />
looks good in photos when it’s a thin lip. I reckon the better photos are<br />
where you can see volume in the lip. And that’s definitely not saying I<br />
am doing what Russell Ord does. But we have a few slabs.<br />
“Swimming around the South Island, so many of the surf breaks are<br />
around seal colonies. That really f#cking shits me. I hate it. I just hate<br />
it. Cause even earlier on in my career, we went down to a place called<br />
White Rock, which is down in the Wairarapa and there used to be a<br />
dear stalkers hut in front of this amazing right hander. And so you’d<br />
4WD your way in and you’d stay in the deer stalkers hut and you’d<br />
wake up every morning and there would be six foot lines peeling down<br />
this right hand rocky point. We would do an annual surf trip there every<br />
year with the surf mag. Anyhow, there is bull kelp everywhere. So<br />
every time it hits your flippers you’re thinking ah f#ck, f*ck, what was<br />
that? It’s easy to get spooked out there.”<br />
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f r a m e d<br />
Mungamaunu as featured in South Seas Revised Edition. Photo: Brodie Jackich.<br />
On the particular day in question,<br />
Craig recalled an awefully strong<br />
smell of decay permeating the<br />
air. When they headed back in<br />
from their third surf, after Craig<br />
had used up his third roll of film<br />
taking water shots, they went in<br />
search of where and from what<br />
the smell was emanating.<br />
“We walked down to the inside<br />
of the point and there is a fourfoot<br />
carcass of a seal with the<br />
most perfect bite mark taken out<br />
of the area between its tail and<br />
stomach. And the boys are like,<br />
‘Oh ok. So Craig, are you going<br />
to keep on swimming?’ and I<br />
was ohh, I might start using the<br />
600ml (zoom lens).”<br />
It is stories like this that confirm<br />
in my mind that people who take<br />
water shots in places like these,<br />
regardless of their sex, must<br />
have balls the size of elephants.<br />
“So really what I’m saying is that<br />
I drop nuts. I don’t like doing it<br />
but there are photographers,<br />
and absolute kudos to them, the<br />
guys in the South Island who do<br />
give it a thought, but they still<br />
do it. They will go out into a seal<br />
colony and out at these slabs<br />
that have seals up on the rocks<br />
and shoot that stuff. It is cold<br />
and gnarly and a front will come<br />
through and they are doing that<br />
stuff. I just don’t want to do it.”<br />
With that said, I was keen to<br />
hear if Craig had ever faced a<br />
situation where he wasn’t keen<br />
to get in the water but pressure<br />
was on him to do so.<br />
“Not really. I have been involved<br />
in those conversations. If there<br />
has been a team manager who’s<br />
come along on a surf trip and<br />
gone, ‘hey look, we really want<br />
you to swim out there’ and I’m<br />
“The Catlins is an<br />
amazing surf zone,<br />
as is all of Otago,<br />
but the fact remains<br />
there is a shark<br />
down there called<br />
KZ 7. And the<br />
reason it is called<br />
that is because that<br />
is how big it is.”<br />
{<br />
12-metre New Zealand maxi KZ 7<br />
otherwise known as ‘Kiwi Magic’<br />
competed in the 1987 America’s<br />
Cup Challenger Series. Reportedly,<br />
KZ 7, the shark, also has a smaller<br />
companion that follows him around<br />
called Dinghy. Nice. Who’s up for a<br />
surf in Otago?<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
going, well dude, I’ll tell you what, I’ll set up the<br />
water housing, here’s my flippers. You have the<br />
same shoe size as me, you f#cking go out there.<br />
“To be fair all of the team managers that I have<br />
dealt with over years have been very good<br />
mates. And most of the time they’re going, ‘f#ck I<br />
wouldn’t have gone out there. I can’t believe you<br />
did’.”<br />
Getting back to the main story, my shark<br />
obsession aside, Craig shared with me the<br />
reason why he started Photo CPL Media.<br />
“The new publisher (of New Zealand Surfing) and<br />
I were butting heads on a range of things.”<br />
The fact he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with the<br />
new publisher coupled with the realisation he<br />
was now a 40 something year-old guy going on<br />
surf trips with young 20 year old surfers, often<br />
falling into the role of “Camp mother”, prompted<br />
his move. Craig also realised he had lost contact<br />
to a degree with family and friends. A new<br />
chapter in his career ensued.<br />
“When I left the magazine in 2008 it was very<br />
weird, but part of my exit was that I retained<br />
copyright of my images.<br />
“I knew I wanted to produce a hard copy book of<br />
my 20 years of taking photos and I felt if I didn’t<br />
do it real fast, it would be consistently put on the<br />
backburner. So as soon as I left the magazine,<br />
I just went straight into producing the first hard<br />
cover book.<br />
“The idea of that book was not necessarily to be<br />
a launching pad to start a publishing company,<br />
but more to just get this bloody book out and see<br />
what happens after that.”<br />
It did become a launch pad however for what is<br />
today Photo CPL Media and to date six coffee<br />
table books have been published. After the<br />
success of his first book, two books on New<br />
Zealand’s fabulous beaches followed.<br />
“Those two books (Beached As) was my foray<br />
into sort of mainstream and not really putting<br />
much value on surfing. But it came to the stage<br />
where, because I was using my graphic designer<br />
that I used to work with at New Zealand Surfing<br />
magazine, both of us simultaneously came up<br />
with the idea of doing the South Seas book.”<br />
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f r m a e d<br />
It is here that I will make the point about what<br />
appeals to me so much about South Seas.<br />
Whilst surf photography often focuses on the<br />
surfer on the wave, the photos that have been<br />
compiled for South Seas encapsulate the spirit<br />
of surfing – not only the rider on the wave but<br />
the surrounds – the environment in which they<br />
are surfing in all its splendour. In a sense, it<br />
allows the reader to experience what that very<br />
surfer is experiencing. It truly is special.<br />
With the success of his first three books behind<br />
him, Craig set out to make a book he wanted<br />
to, not constrained by<br />
the usual publishing<br />
formulas.<br />
“We just went, let’s get the best photos off the<br />
best guys and actively chase those photos. And<br />
lets talk to the guys that started surfing in New<br />
Zealand. And within reason, it doesn’t matter<br />
what the printing cost is, let’s make the book<br />
that we want on our coffee table.”<br />
Craig’s also published a book for the South Island’s<br />
most prolific surf photographer, Warren Hawke,<br />
entitled NZ Surf Captured by a Surf Lens. From<br />
surfing at New Brighton beach in 1966, to shooting<br />
off the back of a jet ski in 2014, the bio beautifully<br />
depicts Warren’s coming of age along with a<br />
whole heap of humorous stories and experiences<br />
shooting many different places and surfers.<br />
“I mean, one of the first posters on my wall when<br />
I was 14 was a Warren Hawke dawn shot of<br />
Mangamaunu. It made me want to go and surf<br />
Mangamaunu. He’s pushed out an incredible<br />
amount of work since the late 60s and to publish<br />
his work was incredible.”<br />
In total, Photo CPL Media has published six hard<br />
covers since 2008 along with Notecards, Postcards<br />
and Print Sets to compliment them.<br />
Craig is no doubt pursuing his passion and having<br />
a lot of fun doing so but it has not come without a<br />
hell of a lot of hard work. As they say, ‘the harder<br />
you work, the luckier you get’.<br />
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If you have enjoyed my chat with Craig Levers,<br />
there is a heap more to it. Simply tune into our<br />
<strong>Smorgasboarder</strong> Podcast for the full interview.<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au/podcast<br />
itunes spotify buzzsprout<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
surfing italy<br />
words and photos: alex benaud<br />
Italy… Pizza, pasta, wine, sunsets over vineyards, beautiful women, old castles, famous monuments,<br />
surf… Perhaps the last one doesn’t usually come in to mind when you are thinking one of the most<br />
historically rich countries on our planet. But surf exists in Italy and I was there to find it.<br />
I wound up there last winter and I was determined to get my surf fix.<br />
onshore wind slop, but who can say no to an empty line-up?<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
I’d often just suit up and hope for the best. 5 mil wetsuit with booties. Almost enough.<br />
30 knot onshore winds, sleepy beaches waiting for<br />
the long, cold winter to pass before being engulfed<br />
by tourists from all over the globe, and water that<br />
hovers below 10 degrees thanks to the rivers that<br />
flow with melted ice from the mountains directly<br />
into the sea, Italy doesn’t seem all too appealing<br />
for a surf destination I know, but I was desperate<br />
and needed an excuse to get wet. Even if it meant<br />
bracing the harsh winter conditions for one to two<br />
foot wind generated waves.<br />
Italy pumps, you just have to be on the right side<br />
of the country and have a little bit of luck. I was<br />
unfortunately on the wrong side, the Adriatic<br />
Sea side and thus was forced to rely on the cold<br />
southeast winds to whip something up. Even<br />
though it could never compare to the waves we get<br />
back here in Australia, I still enjoyed it just as much.<br />
Just the thought of surfing in a place where no-one<br />
would even think of surfing added to its appeal.<br />
It’s strange to think I would never paddle out in<br />
such conditions if I were at home in Australia, but<br />
here it was almost a way of making me feel closer<br />
to home. I’d usually grovel for around 30 to 40<br />
minutes until I could no longer feel my feet through<br />
my booties and the wind was too uncomfortable<br />
to stand. I guess it shows us that no matter where<br />
you are in the world, surfing gives us all a similar<br />
feeling.<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
mark ranucci with founding partners andrew ranucci and mike beckerleg<br />
collective consciousness<br />
words: dave swan<br />
Surf Collective was essentially born of a desire to<br />
help support and protect Australia’s grassroots<br />
surfing culture. In the space of just two short<br />
years it has become a united front for over 70<br />
independent Aussie surf businesses. It is a<br />
remarkable feat.<br />
Realising how much the surf industry had changed<br />
since his childhood in the 70’s with it now<br />
dominated by multi-nationals and their massproduced<br />
products, Mark Ranucci, who is one of<br />
the founders of the Surf Collective, connected with<br />
a number of independent Aussie surf brands. The<br />
idea was to provide them with a greater voice by<br />
bringing them together via an online platform. Each<br />
of the brands has their own unique story and are<br />
not found in mainstream surf retail stores.<br />
I recently spoke with Mark about what it means<br />
to be a part of the collective and how they have<br />
managed to attract so many purveyors of our<br />
surf culture spanning some 38 categories from<br />
bespoke surf apparel manufacturers to artists,<br />
photographers, surf accessories, skateboards,<br />
wetsuits, handplanes… indeed all manner of surf<br />
related products.<br />
“Having been a surfer for a while, you go to surf<br />
shops and you see that except for a few, they<br />
are largely selling all the same stuff. I love surfing<br />
and the culture it represents but due to the rise of<br />
multinational corporations I felt a small part of its<br />
charm was slipping away. I became disillusioned<br />
with the fact surfing culture was becoming big<br />
business. It is so out-of-step with our authentic<br />
Australian surf culture that supported individuality.<br />
But when you go digging, there’s a whole lot of<br />
people doing a whole bunch of interesting stuff.<br />
And I think the world is changing, in that people<br />
are going to farmers’ markets to buy their food,<br />
wanting to know where the produce is from. So<br />
we thought, why can’t we do that with the surf<br />
industry? Provide surfers with an alternative. But<br />
rather than forcing them to go looking for these<br />
brands, let’s put them all in the one spot.”<br />
The premise behind their approach was that all<br />
within the collective could benefit from each other.<br />
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“Someone trying to plug organic surf wax online is<br />
going to have a hard time doing that, people don’t<br />
really shop that way. People will go looking for some<br />
boardies or a t-shirt and perhaps grab some wax<br />
on the way out. So, our idea was to put everyone<br />
together on an online store. We started off with a<br />
couple dozen brands and we have over 70 on there<br />
now across some 40 categories.<br />
“We write up a story on each business because we<br />
feel that is what people want - to be able to make<br />
that connection with the brands they support. It’s<br />
been really nice from my point of view, dealing with<br />
a whole bunch of small businesses that are really<br />
passionate about what they do and enjoy what they<br />
do.”<br />
To date the venture has proven a success for all<br />
involved with Surf Collective selling quite a bit of<br />
gear, not only here in Australia but overseas as well.<br />
“I think the Australian surf culture is aspirational to<br />
someone sitting in an office in London, Spain or<br />
the US. Probably a quarter of our stuff gets sold<br />
overseas at the moment. So in turn we are helping<br />
these brands to become known beyond just their<br />
immediate market at home.”<br />
“It allows people to see what we are about, touch<br />
and feel the gear, it also provides us with another<br />
sales channel. It has also contributed greatly to<br />
coffee sales and given the café a point of difference<br />
to others in the area and provided another income<br />
stream. It has worked really well and it is something<br />
we would like to do again if we find the right café.<br />
“I think it is something we will see a lot more of.<br />
Bricks and mortar (retail shops) have to change with<br />
the times. You have to be doing something a bit<br />
different to force people off the couch to come into<br />
your shop nowadays.”<br />
Aside from a different approach to retail, there is<br />
also an ethical consciousness to Surf Collective’s<br />
endeavour.<br />
“Hopefully we’re helping a few people along the<br />
way and helping customers to find something<br />
different and feel good about supporting small<br />
businesses.<br />
“I think the next generation are a lot more in tune<br />
with their place in the world and how they can have<br />
a positive impact.”<br />
surfcollective.com.au<br />
Interestingly, the Surf Collective embarked on a<br />
collaboration with a local café in Avalon called The<br />
Sneaky Grind to establish a physical presence for<br />
the entity as well. It’s proven a success with Mark<br />
looking to partner with others in similar ventures<br />
along our coastline.<br />
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photo: somewhere on their north western road trip<br />
30
smorgasboarder<br />
pistols in the desert<br />
words: alex benaud photos: jack o’grady photography<br />
It would be interesting to see whether we would<br />
change our minds about buying a certain surf<br />
product if we really knew the person who created<br />
it. It’s something we never really think about, we<br />
usually look at the price, the colour and if that’s good<br />
enough, we buy it. But if we actually got to know<br />
some of the people behind these products, I’m sure<br />
it would influence our buying behaviour.<br />
I recently sat down with the humble, passionate<br />
and well spoken Nick Muntz, the young man behind<br />
Western Australia’s Pistol Surf Co. to talk about<br />
the brand, what it’s like to be involved in the ever<br />
growing surfing industry of today and their recent<br />
trip to the north west Coast of Australia.<br />
Originally a team rider for Pistol Surf Co, Nick took<br />
over the brand a few years a go after finishing his<br />
business degree at university, and has since worked<br />
hard to expand beyond West Oz.<br />
“It started off as kind of a hobby but now I’m doing<br />
everything I can to make it into a career. It was<br />
basically just a couple of tail-pads and that was it.<br />
Now there’s tail pads, front pads, leg ropes, stretch<br />
socks and wetties. I’ve also got some exciting new<br />
products on the way, such as travel and accessory<br />
bags, tie downs and a bit of everything.”<br />
With it seemingly becoming more difficult to<br />
differentiate the various brands within the surfing<br />
industry today, an admirable belief that Nick stands<br />
by is having the Pistol Surf Co. name represented<br />
in a way that represents his own values and<br />
personality.<br />
“Obviously I’m interested in people that surf well,<br />
but I think it’s also important that they are outgoing,<br />
super positive and offer a lot of charisma. You don’t<br />
have to be the best surfer to be sponsored by Pistol,<br />
but my team riders defiantly bring something a little<br />
unique to the brand which is important.”<br />
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34
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Last year Nick and the Pistol team made the trip up the<br />
north western Coast of Australia to enjoy 37 days of life in<br />
the desert. With no internet, phone reception or civilisation<br />
many hours drive away, they got to immerse themselves<br />
in desert life. It’s no wonder they came away with such<br />
incredible footage of world class waves resulting in the<br />
creation of the film ‘Desert Blue’.<br />
“Well I can tell you we all got desert fever by the end of it,<br />
well and truly. It was epic, up north is such a remote place,<br />
we were hours away from civilisation and we kind of just<br />
lived day by day. When you wake up you just want to<br />
spend the day surfing, fishing, diving or even just drinking<br />
beers and hanging out.<br />
“The trip sort of really summarises what Pistol is about.<br />
Hanging out with mates, surfing, fishing and living in the<br />
now, all while having a good time.”<br />
Surfing, beers and tubes aside, Nick knows what it takes<br />
to make a brand successful…<br />
“You have just got to keep on pushing and trying your<br />
hardest because nothing ever happens over night. You<br />
have to maintain that drive to one day have your brand<br />
where you want it to be. For example in 5 years time<br />
I know where I want Pistol to be and I’m going to do<br />
everything I can to get it there.”<br />
nick with a board displaying his Pistol traction<br />
In today’s world, brands rely heavily on social media<br />
platforms to market themselves and sell products. The<br />
personality, trust and clarity of who you’re really buying<br />
from can be lost somewhere along the way, which is why<br />
it’s important to understand not only from where, but who<br />
your product is coming from. Just hope that it’s someone<br />
as personable and passionate as Nick Muntz.<br />
“I think social media is super important but getting<br />
out there physically and just socialising is a<br />
really good way to increase your brands<br />
exposure. Word of mouth, I still personally<br />
think it’s the most powerful marketing and<br />
advertising you can do.”<br />
Wise words…<br />
For the bigger, longer conversation, listen at<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au/podcast<br />
itunes spotify buzzsprout<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
rack ‘em up<br />
words: dave swan<br />
It has often been said that surfboards are functional works of art.<br />
You can admire them and you can ride them. You have possibly<br />
even used that line when explaining to your better half why you<br />
have so many surfboards. “They are not only beautiful to look<br />
at, I ride them all!” I have used that excuse nonetheless but with<br />
what degree of success is certainly debatable.<br />
The point being is, if you are going to refer to your babies as<br />
works of art, you might as well display them right. In this special<br />
feature we look at a number of the top surfboard display and<br />
storage racks available on the market today from vertical racks<br />
to horizontal racks, wall mounted racks, ceiling racks and even<br />
invisible racks.<br />
Let’s face it, displaying your prized possessions in the best<br />
possible fashion adds to the appeal of your home (I have also<br />
tried this one). It also provides you with a constant reminder to<br />
go out and get wet. Furthermore, storage wise, poorly stored<br />
boards result in lots of extra visits to your local ding repairer so<br />
invest that cash in a cracking set of racks instead.<br />
photo: endless inspiration from shepp solutions.<br />
more on them on page 41<br />
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37
ghost racks<br />
surf n’ rak<br />
cactus racks<br />
boat channel boardracks
smorgasboarder<br />
boat channel boardracks<br />
Boat Channel Boardracks offers custom handmade<br />
timber rack systems for display and storage of your<br />
boards. Completely freestanding racks as well as<br />
ceiling or wall mounted racks are also available.<br />
Using the timber you specify, you can choose from<br />
some of their popular designs or work together<br />
with them to get the perfect rack to fit your board<br />
collection and storage location. Boat Channel rack<br />
systems range from displaying vintage collectable<br />
surfboards in designer homes to cleaning up that<br />
beachside garage that has 40+ boards in it; they can<br />
offer a rack to solve your storage and display needs.<br />
All racks are built with exterior glues and galvanized<br />
screws, ensuring your rack has a long life. Exterior<br />
grade timbers are also available for racks that need<br />
to live in the elements. Best of all, Boat Channel<br />
Boardracks offer a trade-in guarantee, meaning that<br />
if you outgrow your rack or move to a new home<br />
and need a different rack, you can trade your old<br />
rack in towards a new one.<br />
Based in Lennox Head, Boat Channel Boardracks<br />
manufacture and ship their rack systems all over<br />
Australia.<br />
Give them a call to discuss what solution might be<br />
the best for you, or browse and order online on their<br />
website.<br />
boatchannelboardracks.com.au<br />
39
smorgasboarder<br />
shepp solutions<br />
gnarwall multi board rack<br />
40
smorgasboarder<br />
shepp solutions<br />
Remember your first board?<br />
What about your favourite whip?<br />
There’s something special<br />
about every single board you<br />
buy. Something that sticks out,<br />
something that makes you smile;<br />
like that perfect barrel you shot<br />
out of on your last surf trip,<br />
something that you don’t ever<br />
want to forget. “At SHEPPS we<br />
know how you feel about your<br />
boards because we feel the<br />
same way. That’s why<br />
we developed the<br />
Gnarwall System.<br />
The only truly<br />
hidden surfboard<br />
hanging system<br />
that puts your<br />
board front and<br />
centre. With<br />
our laser cut fin<br />
box hangers and simple wall<br />
mounted hook, your board goes<br />
from driftwood to artwork in<br />
seconds! Got more than one<br />
board in your quiver?<br />
“At our affordable price you<br />
can hang every board in your<br />
collection without breaking<br />
the bank. Ask our favourite<br />
Surfer Josh Kerr who has been<br />
showcasing Matt Parker from<br />
Album Surf’s sick sticks:”<br />
‘It’s rad!<br />
‘I’ve been getting some amazing<br />
looking boards lately and started<br />
wanting to showcase them in<br />
my house. I came across<br />
this product and I love<br />
the way it looks like the<br />
board is floating on the<br />
wall. Great design and<br />
super easy to install!’ – JK<br />
Gnarwall was designed<br />
by Great Lake Surfers on<br />
the shores of Lake Ontario,<br />
and is crafted from sustainable<br />
materials. The system is<br />
available in three colorways<br />
and works with Futures, FCS or<br />
single-fin, fin boxes.<br />
sheppsolutions.com<br />
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surf n’ rak<br />
The big deal about Surf n’ Rak storage systems is<br />
they are made of steel so they are literally as strong<br />
as… steel. There’s a reason for the saying. Simply<br />
put you never have to fear your prized possessions<br />
will come crashing down. Best of all, they have 35<br />
different styles of racks to choose from: angled<br />
raks, ceiling raks, free standing raks, wall mounted<br />
raks, bike raks, SUP raks, surfboard shaper raks…<br />
Hell, they have racks for every kind of surfboard,<br />
paddleboard, snowboard, skateboard, even kayaks<br />
you own... Surfers making raks for surfers since 1996.<br />
Features:<br />
• Aussie made<br />
• Light weight and super strong<br />
• Made from erw steel tube and tig welded<br />
• Powder coated in textured black<br />
• All contact surfaces are protected with non<br />
marking foam rubber<br />
• PVC end caps<br />
• Plugs/screws and instructions included in each kit<br />
surfnrak.com.au<br />
cactus rack<br />
Inspired by the lack of board storage options<br />
available for their small apartment, the team at<br />
Cactus set about developing a modular board<br />
storage solution that would look great in any room.<br />
After countless designs and prototypes, they finally<br />
arrived at their perfect solution. Something that is<br />
both functional and beautiful. The Cactus rack is<br />
crafted from sustainably grown bamboo, so your<br />
sleds can look sharp whilst you sit back and feel the<br />
good planetary vibes come your way.<br />
The Cactus rack can hold snowboards, kiteboards,<br />
wakeboards and all surfboard types up to 10ft in<br />
height - they capped the sizing at 10ft due to the<br />
average ceiling height of a room and the weight /<br />
size of larger boards.<br />
One of their most innovative features is its<br />
modularity; so you can pick and choose which<br />
storage size is right for you! Conveniently; this also<br />
means there is no messing around with ordering<br />
odd bits and pieces in order to have everything fit<br />
together.<br />
The innovative design also allows their product to<br />
be flat packed, which means it arrives at your door<br />
in one box and can be easily assembled using only<br />
a single Allen key. Order, receive, connect and Voila!<br />
Simple and seamless.<br />
cactusrack.com.au<br />
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riley timber racks<br />
Mark Riley of Riley Balsa Wood Surfboards<br />
crafts hand-made wooden racks to suit any<br />
of his boards from short through to long,<br />
displaying 1, 2 or even 3 boards.<br />
He also sells via his online store the innovative<br />
Pinch & Roll hanging system along with the<br />
award winning Solid Racks. Made from highly<br />
elastic, durable silicone, Pinch & Roll rolls onto<br />
the nose of you board and can be hung on the<br />
supplied wall mount.<br />
balsawoodsurfboardsriley.com<br />
ocean & earth<br />
Keep your favourite boards out of harm’s way with<br />
Ocean & Earth’s diverse range of board storage<br />
solutions. For more storage solutions see our ad on<br />
page 7 of this edition or go to<br />
oceanearthstore.com<br />
t-bar board<br />
ceiling rax<br />
fits 1-4 boards<br />
Suits all board types, easy side loading<br />
ceiling mount, 60mm protective EVA<br />
padded sleeves, heavy duty metal<br />
frame and holds boards up to 34” wide.<br />
hoist ceiling rax<br />
Fits 1-2 SUP /Longboards or 4 Surfboards. Heavy<br />
duty pulley system, adjustable height, holds up to<br />
40kgs with easy installation for garage ceilings.<br />
side loader bike rack<br />
Fits 1 board on most<br />
bikes, including mountain<br />
bikes. Attaches easily<br />
under seat post (25mm<br />
to 32mm) Anodised,<br />
rust resistant aluminium<br />
frame. Adjustable EVA<br />
padded arms - fits most<br />
board sizes up to 8’.<br />
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ghost racks<br />
Here’s a ghostly surf story: Shane Atkins and Darren<br />
Barnes share a passion that bought them together<br />
as best mates - surfing. A few years ago, Shane<br />
purchased his first vintage board - a 1980’s Mark<br />
Richards twin fin that he wanted to display on his<br />
living room wall.<br />
Shane soon realised however he had a problem.<br />
Most of the racks on the market were made<br />
from obtrusive timber, steel or aluminium that he<br />
considered big, bulky and ugly.<br />
Enter Darren – a qualified plastics fabricator. After<br />
many designs and prototypes, Darren and Shane<br />
created the perfect solution - a secure, seamless<br />
and precise rack design that is almost invisible!<br />
Their outstanding design and workmanship gave<br />
Shane’s vintage MR surfboard pride of place in his<br />
living room that even his girlfriend loved the look<br />
of. The guys shared photos of the MR display with<br />
family, friends and on social media. Then, surfers<br />
from around the world saw them and wanted their<br />
own ‘invisible racks’.<br />
One of their early customers from California said<br />
“it looks like my board is floating, like it’s held by<br />
a ghost or something”. “Ghost Racks” was born.<br />
Now, the big names such as Jamie O’Brien, Rob<br />
Machado, Mark Richards, Luis Real, Firewire,<br />
Quiksilver and Album Surf love and use Ghost Racks<br />
and now you can too.<br />
Ghost Racks models range from free-standing racks<br />
to wall-mounted horizontal or vertical racks. If you’re<br />
after something more ‘outside the box’ they can<br />
create your own custom model to suit your unique<br />
space or board design.<br />
ghostracks.com.au<br />
“For someone like me who likes<br />
to display my vintage surfboards<br />
with a clean look, Ghost Racks<br />
are really the best option. Strong,<br />
tasteful, easy to install and simply<br />
the best custom racks I have ever<br />
seen. I would recommend the use<br />
of this high end product.”<br />
Luis Real ‘North Shore Surf Shop’<br />
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<strong>46</strong>
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custom made<br />
words: dave swan<br />
Newcastle master shaper Peter Sheely has been<br />
making surfboards for close to 50 years. Today he<br />
specialises in nothing but custom designs, all made<br />
in-house by himself, by hand, from start to finish.<br />
Pete also makes some pretty sweet looking guitars.<br />
I recently caught up with him to chat about his<br />
beloved crafts and what rocks his world.<br />
A wood machinist by trade, Pete firstgot an<br />
apprenticeship with a local Novacastrian furniture<br />
factory before he scored a job with legendary<br />
surf identity Sam Egan - from that day, his world<br />
irreversibly changed. Pete got to work alongside<br />
and learn from some of the best in the business,<br />
not just Sam but the likes of Neal Purchase Senior<br />
and Peter Cornish.<br />
“Sam knew I was a wood machinist and he initially<br />
got me to come in and cut the blanks in half. He<br />
knew they’d be straight instead of the guy at the<br />
time who was cutting them like a dog’s hind leg. I<br />
virtually started glueing up (blanks) and then Sam<br />
got me to make fins and then to finish coat and<br />
I just went right through the whole scene Dave.<br />
That’s why I now can do everything and don’t have<br />
to take anything off-site (outsource).”<br />
Pete credits Neal Purchase Senior as having a<br />
large influence on his development as a surfboard<br />
shaper. Glasser Ronnie White, who was also<br />
working with Sam at the time, was another notable<br />
influence on his board making abilities. With the<br />
surfboard industry booming during his formative<br />
years, he got plenty of opportunity to develop those<br />
skills.<br />
“I tell you now mate, Sam was making a lot of<br />
boards Dave, I mean a hell of a lot of boards.”<br />
When Bill Wallace brought out a pop-out surfboard,<br />
things stepped up a notch again. Sam (Egan)<br />
partnered with Barry Bennett opening a shop in<br />
Hunter Street within Newcastle’s CBD and with<br />
its opening, brought out his own version of the<br />
popout. Pete was given the responsibility of making<br />
them look good.<br />
“Sam said, ‘Pete you’ve got to do six pop-outs to<br />
put in the surf shop’. And I’d go, oh yeah, alright<br />
and I was left to my own devices. I just put all these<br />
whirly pigment colours on it mate. I learnt a lot<br />
just figuring it out myself. I really learnt how to use<br />
pigment and do pin lines and things like that. And<br />
then in the end, I got into trouble. Barry said, ‘Hey<br />
we can’t sell these for $200 bucks, these are worth<br />
more. They’re better than the other boards we’ve<br />
got in the shop.”<br />
After 10 years or so working for Sam, Pete went<br />
out on his own starting a surfboard factory with a<br />
little more than $400, which was just enough for a<br />
few surfboard blanks.<br />
“Yeah, I started the factory in ’79. I took over an old<br />
car yard, which was a mess. I had so many guys go<br />
through the factory through the years. I had Sam<br />
(Egan) and then I had Peter McCabe. I even had<br />
Roy Lee from Pacific Dreams in there. Ross Smith<br />
was the sprayer, Shane Partridge was sanding, I<br />
did most of the shaping, all of the glassing, and I<br />
think I did the finish coat too. And Jamie Distro was<br />
polishing and fixing things. I had the factory until<br />
2006/2008 before I began shaping from home.<br />
“Another guy who showed me a lot mate was Frank<br />
Williams. When I went into business for myself, I<br />
went down to Midget’s to get some blanks and<br />
there was a guy there called Frank Williams. Frank<br />
showed me how to put ‘Vs’ in the bottom of boards<br />
amongst other things. He taught me a real lot.”<br />
At its peak, Pete’s factory was pumping out 10-15<br />
custom shapes each and<br />
every week.<br />
“I always just made what<br />
the customer wanted. That’s<br />
me job, I’m a custom-made<br />
surfboard manufacturer.<br />
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“I have always done boards for the norm mate, the<br />
normal type of guys, the normal guys who go into<br />
surf shops and get talked into a board they bloody<br />
can’t ride. And they come and see me and I look<br />
at them and I say, do you surf, how long have you<br />
been surfing for and then we take it from there.<br />
I think that’s why they kept coming back to me<br />
mate.”<br />
With the arrival of cheap boards from overseas Pete<br />
got out of the factory and set up a small workshop<br />
in his New Lambton home. His focus on custom<br />
boards however has carried right through to this<br />
very day where he shapes all manner of boards for<br />
his loyal and growing clientele.<br />
“I just finished a 10’4” off you know. Beautiful<br />
board. And then I have been on to Surf Blanks<br />
about a kneeboard. I’ve got to make a kneeboard.<br />
And things like that don’t faze me, and I think<br />
that’s why I’ve always had an open mind towards<br />
shaping. People say, ‘why do you want to shape a<br />
kneeboard for?’ And I’d say, well, why not. What’s<br />
wrong with it?”<br />
As Pete explains, it’s the variety of boards he<br />
shapes that keeps it interesting.<br />
“Cathy (Pete’s wife) said to me the other day, ‘Are<br />
you getting sick of it?’ and I said no. I get different<br />
orders, that’s why I don’t get sick of it. I can see<br />
why people do get sick of it, if they get stuck doing<br />
500 boards exactly the same. Like these guys that<br />
do these machine boards, all they’re doing is just<br />
rubbing them back and glassing - here’s another<br />
one, here’s another one. Well you know yourself if<br />
you walk into a surf shop these days and you look<br />
along the line, the boards all look the same.”<br />
Of late Pete’s shaped quite a few 12 footers (we will<br />
get into that a little later within our special editorial<br />
focus on Gliders) along with a few mini Simmons<br />
disc style shapes.<br />
“I think the smallest one I did mate was 4’6”.<br />
Nothing of it. A big wide tail on it.”<br />
The variety of different custom shapes Pete crafts<br />
has in turn attracted a pretty diverse crew riding his<br />
boards, both in terms of age and sex.<br />
“I tell you what, I’ve got a lot of girls riding my<br />
boards now, hell of a lot mate. You know I mean up<br />
and down the coast, around here, a lot in Sydney.<br />
They’re loving them mate. One girl got a 9’6” and<br />
she goes right down to about to a 6’6” I made<br />
for her. She loves them. She goes on those Yoga<br />
retreats and they see her board, next minute one<br />
of the girls who was on the retreat is ringing me up<br />
about a board.<br />
“And that’s another thing. I think some of the<br />
manufacturers are a bit funny with girls. I’ve always<br />
made boards for girls. I also deal with a lot of<br />
parents buying boards for their kids. I suppose it<br />
is because the parents can talk to me, as can the<br />
kids. I am happy to sit down and discuss what they<br />
want.”<br />
Apart from the various types of surfboards he<br />
shapes, including some remarkable wood boards<br />
and restorations, Pete also handcrafts some<br />
beautiful guitars.<br />
“I just read an ad in the local newspaper, and I<br />
thought geez I always wanted to make one. It’s<br />
really rewarding you know, making one.<br />
“There are some similarities to shaping a board in<br />
that you’re using your hands. It’s a really hands-on<br />
thing. All my boards have always been hands-on,<br />
and guitar works, you know, you’re bending with an<br />
iron and selecting timbers. There’s no easy method.<br />
“You’re shaping the blocks of wood, you’re shaping<br />
the neck, you’ve got to put the wood through a<br />
thickener, then you’ve got to use a scraper on<br />
it to get it down to the right millimetre. Yeah, so<br />
very similar to shaping only you’re working with<br />
wood and you’ve got to be careful because you<br />
are working with very exotic wood that’s worth a<br />
fortune.”<br />
Pete has a fondness for using Rosewood in his<br />
guitars with Spruce on the deck and mahogany<br />
on the neck, if he can source it. His most recent<br />
creation was a super cool semi-acoustic jazz guitar.<br />
“It is very similar to a Gretsch. I always wanted one<br />
after I saw Neil Young and Stephen Stills playing<br />
back in the day… but I could never afford to get<br />
one because those Gretsch White Doves mate,<br />
they’re worth a fortune. This was the best way to<br />
go. It’s a little bit different but it’s good. It’s still got<br />
a good sound.”<br />
Pete’s not only made a few for himself but a couple<br />
for his daughter as well.<br />
“Yeah that was a bit of a challenge because she is<br />
left handed. It turned me upside down. I thought it<br />
would be exactly the same but it’s not you know, so<br />
I had to go and see my guitar guru Lenny, and he<br />
said you need the bridge to go the opposite way,<br />
you need this, you need strength here. I had to go<br />
back to square one. For my next guitar I wouldn’t<br />
mind attempting a cutaway acoustic.”<br />
Through the years I have not only come to know<br />
and see what a talented craftsman Pete Sheely is, I<br />
have gotten to know him as one of the most down<br />
to earth blokes I have met. He is the epitome of<br />
what our magazine is all about – grassroots surf<br />
industry legends.<br />
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“Their popularity has grown somewhat in the last 5 years or<br />
so but it is still a bit of a niche which is nice. Riding them<br />
isn’t something that will appeal to everyone but most<br />
people that give it a go tend to want one pretty bad.<br />
Definitely suited to long peeling point breaks or<br />
waves that give you plenty of time. It’s 12 foot of<br />
board, nothing happens fast other than the trim.”<br />
thomas bexon<br />
surfer: thomas and arkie<br />
photo: ben osborne<br />
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g l i d e r s<br />
gliders<br />
They’re a new phenomenon.<br />
You have probably seen one out in<br />
the surf and thought what the hell<br />
is that and wondered how friggin<br />
long it is. If you’ve been grovelling<br />
to get on a weak little one-footer<br />
akin to the winter ripples we get<br />
here on the Sunshine Coast, your<br />
next thoughts are probably along<br />
the lines of, I wish I had one.<br />
But what the hell are they? Yes<br />
they’re big boards, often in the<br />
vicinity of 12 foot plus, but in a<br />
design sense, are they extra long<br />
longboards, paddleboards without<br />
a paddle, oversized guns or a<br />
subtle blend of all of these?<br />
We spoke with several shapers<br />
who have been crafting a number<br />
of these gliders for their customers<br />
to find out what aspects of design<br />
they have concentrated upon in<br />
their development.<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
“Pure bliss is the only other word that comes to<br />
mind to describe the feeling...”<br />
surfer: matt williams<br />
photo: @white_collective<br />
matt williams<br />
thomas<br />
Thomas Bexon of Thomas Surfboards was first<br />
inspired to develop his glider, aptly named The Postie,<br />
after local postman and unofficial mayor of Noosa,<br />
Peter Biden. “Biddo has been sitting wide and picking<br />
off sets on his glider at National Park since long<br />
before I started surfing. I love his approach.<br />
“The Postie is the ultimate trim machine. It’s inspired<br />
by and designed for glide. The Postie works from<br />
knee high to double over head, and it’s great for small<br />
day tandem sessions with the babe, or whoever. Soft<br />
roll through the nose entry moves to a flat-ish mid<br />
section, with a really soft panel V in the tail.”<br />
It’s all executed over 12 foot plus of rail with the<br />
utmost subtlety. A 10 inch version of a mid ‘60s<br />
Greenough 4A / Hayden involvement era fin offers<br />
the perfect amount of drive and stability. Rocker is<br />
smooth and consistent over the entire length of the<br />
board with just the right amount to offer a nice mix<br />
of glide, turn-ability and nose riding capability. I’m<br />
in love.<br />
thomassurfboards.com<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
factory<br />
Matt Williams of The Factory Surfboards in Moffat<br />
Beach is quite accustomed to shaping boards<br />
of this size. After all he was apprentice to world<br />
renowned shaper and big board advocate Tom<br />
Wegener for many years before going out on his<br />
own.<br />
“Working with Tom Wegener all those years back,<br />
funnily enough, 12 footers were mid-size boards.<br />
“I really like to focus on the turning aspect of 12<br />
footers as everyone appears to just make gliders to<br />
go straight. There is nothing better then a pocket<br />
turn on 12 feet of foam.”<br />
Matt achieves this feat through the design features<br />
he’s incorporated into his gliders.<br />
“My 12’s don’t have an edge but more of a 30/70<br />
up rail through the tail. Having a board that size<br />
doesn’t need drive I feel. Also, I feel an edge will<br />
track up the wave sometimes when you don’t want<br />
it to. A flatish rocker through the nose and actually<br />
more lift in the tail like a noserider helps it not to<br />
pearl the big girls and fit in the pocket a little better.<br />
They do nose ride but it’s not what they are made<br />
for. Pure bliss is the only other word that comes to<br />
mind to describe the feeling, especially in winter!”<br />
The trimmings on this one, such as the intricate fin,<br />
nose and tail blocks is no doubt a nod to the skills<br />
Matt honed working with Tom Wegener.<br />
thefactorysurfboards<br />
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sheely<br />
l i d e r s<br />
Peter Sheely from Newcastle is another shaper<br />
who has been shaping a number of these boards<br />
of late. Whilst Pete admitted it was initially a bit of<br />
trial and error, as is the case with virtually every<br />
new surfboard design, he eventually dialled it<br />
into a subtle blend of his favourite mal and gun<br />
templates. Pete shared with me how they perform<br />
based on a recent trip to Scotts Head.<br />
“I couldn’t believe it mate. It was only about a foot<br />
and I’m sitting out there with this other guy on a<br />
clubbie paddle board and I just kept getting wave<br />
after wave whilst he was left watching. He said,<br />
‘mate, how big’s that board?’ And I said it’s over<br />
12 foot. He’s going, ‘geez, I can’t pick them up on<br />
a paddle board and here you are catching them<br />
all and the next minute I see you right down the<br />
end.’ Yeah Dave, they go really good.”<br />
I was in no doubt as to the ability of these boards<br />
to trim but was equally keen to hear how they<br />
handle.<br />
“Turns good Dave. You’ve got to be right on the<br />
back. I have also been down the South Coast<br />
(NSW) with it. I had some beautiful waves at<br />
Bennelong off the boat ramp. I was going right<br />
across the boat ramp over to the other little point<br />
there. Once you’ve got a rolling wave mate, they<br />
fly, and when you get into the wall of the wave,<br />
you’re going so fast they are just incredible. But<br />
they’re no good on a shore break. They’re not for<br />
shore breaks.”<br />
As for the work entailed in crafting one of these<br />
big buggers, Pete informed me there is a lot of<br />
board to shape and then you have to deal with<br />
fitting them into a shaping bay… or not.<br />
“I’m out on the road shaping them. I have to get<br />
my mate Larry out with the Stop and Go sign out<br />
in the street, they’re that long.”<br />
sheelysurfboards.com<br />
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smorgasboarder<br />
riley<br />
Mark Riley of Riley Balsa Wood Surfboards has<br />
made quite a few big gun balsa blanks for a number<br />
of shapers around the world, and shaped a few of<br />
his own guns too, along with some huge cruisers.<br />
“The beauty of balsa is its buoyancy and strength.<br />
It doesn’t matter what length the board is, the<br />
boards float and glide and they are incredibly<br />
strong, which can be an issue when you start<br />
getting up over 10 foot plus. You don’t want the<br />
boards snapping.<br />
“I can obviously make these boards of solid balsa,<br />
as in our solid balsa Hawaiian guns, which come<br />
with a triple cedar stringer and a glassed on single<br />
fin, or as a glider or cruiser, with our high strength<br />
balsa skin wrapped around a recycled EPS foam<br />
core – incredibly strong, yet light and environmentally<br />
friendly. And they make great wall hangers.”<br />
balsawoodsurfboardsriley.com<br />
rabbidge<br />
Another bloke who lives down Bennelong way and<br />
has also been making a few of these boards is<br />
the one and only Mark Rabbidge. Mark set about<br />
making this 13 foot monster by grabbing two 9’8”<br />
blanks, cut the tails off each, glued them together<br />
to get the right deck rocker and then started shaping.<br />
As for how it goes, Mark’s reply was classic<br />
Rabbidge, “F*cking unreal. I can’t throw it around<br />
like I used to so now I just glide. I am trimming and<br />
positioning and gliding. It’s unreal.”<br />
Discussing this design, Mark recalled a surf he had<br />
with a legendary crew back in the mid 80s.<br />
“We were over in the States for a few contests –<br />
me, Nat (Young), Donald Takayama, Skip Frye and<br />
Joel Tudor, when he was just a kid. We were down<br />
at Old Man’s in San Onofre (southern California).”<br />
They hit the waves straight away but Skip’s wife<br />
informed the gathering he would join them at 10<br />
minutes to 11 when the conditions were just right.<br />
“Right on 10 to 11 Skipper comes down to the<br />
beach with his 12 footer, paddles out right past all<br />
of us, spins and smokes this thing f#cking straight<br />
past all of us. I never forgot that. So, when I started<br />
making my gliders, I remember that all the time.<br />
Skip was right on it. He wasn’t jumping all over<br />
the place, just trimming and gliding....speed. At 70<br />
years of age, I get it. That to me is still killer.”<br />
Mark Rabbidge Surf Design<br />
55
smorgasboarder<br />
big sun<br />
Ryan Glover of Big Sun in Mt Maunganui, New<br />
Zealand is another shaper producing some rad<br />
shapes including some super slick glide machines.<br />
Drawing inspiration from multiple surfing epochs, Big<br />
Sun celebrates the wider surfing experience with all boards<br />
locally made with a quality, refinement and finish second to none.<br />
Their range of logs and gliders are designed to achieve perfect<br />
trim – “drop low and you will feel it take off across even the flattest<br />
section.” These boards can be custom made to suit personal<br />
preference from pin to square tail, fin box or glass in fin, specialised<br />
tints and even single, double or triple cedar stringers.<br />
bigsun.nz<br />
g l i d e r s<br />
photo: guy thompson @soggytoesmagazine<br />
56
smorgasboarder<br />
SUPcentre<br />
The arrival of gliders has seen many become<br />
converts. As the SUPcentre in Auckland has grown<br />
and matured, the knowledge and curiosity of their<br />
team has also grown leading them to explore<br />
various ways to enjoy riding waves of varying size<br />
and shape.<br />
SUPcentre manager Jeremy Collins had this to<br />
say about his love for these boards, “This summer<br />
our Board Meetings not only included stand up<br />
paddle boards but also a mixture of longboards<br />
and gliders. We found they all have one thing in<br />
common, the beautiful sensation of the glide - the<br />
amazing feeling of gliding smoothly and effortlessly<br />
across a wave. It led us to think it would be a<br />
logical progression to integrate stand up paddle<br />
boards, longboards and gliders under one roof.”<br />
Considering expanding your wave riding quiver?<br />
Why not consider a glider? To make the experience<br />
even more special, include the knowledge and skill<br />
of a local shaper, the one person that can link your<br />
ability and the waves at your favourite local break.<br />
It will be a life changing journey.<br />
supcentre.co.nz<br />
Finding the perfect glider however is a journey that<br />
you best embark on with some sound advice.<br />
“It is hence why we have teamed up with two<br />
skilled local kiwi shapers to help guide our<br />
customers: firstly, Steve Morris from Morris<br />
Surfboards based just north of Auckland. Steve’s<br />
knowledge of longboards and gliders has been well<br />
honed through a number of years in the shaping<br />
bay. His quiet, unassuming manner hides a shaper<br />
who has a depth of knowledge second to none. The<br />
second is an up and upcoming shaper from Mount<br />
Maunganui, Whare Heke. He’s the Man behind ALT<br />
Surf. Talented in working with various mediums,<br />
Whare started his career as a full-time carver.<br />
Moving to foam in recent years he has developed<br />
a dedicated following of wave riders around the<br />
Mount Maunganui region. His dedication to the<br />
craft is inspiring.”<br />
57
smorgasboarder<br />
Custom shortboards,<br />
hybrid & fishes,<br />
Mals & Logs.<br />
Full repair service.<br />
9’4” nose rider log 23” x 2 3/4”<br />
Smooth easy turning stable nose rider<br />
CLEARWATER SURFBOARDS<br />
M: 0417 912 207<br />
E: stevedelrosso@yahoo.com.au<br />
Insta: @cwsurfboards<br />
WWW.CWSURFBOARDS.COM<br />
WORLD CLASS AUSTRALIAN MADE SURFBOARDS AT<br />
AFFORDABLE PRICES.<br />
DBURGE SURFBOARDS<br />
Factory 3/6 Kerta Rd,<br />
Kincumber NSW 2251<br />
M: 0415 577 085<br />
7’2” step up on<br />
its way to Bali for<br />
the Qantas pilots<br />
to play with on<br />
their stopovers.<br />
Hard life for<br />
some!!<br />
7’2” x 21 ¼” x 2 ½”<br />
Single Fin<br />
THE DING KING / CLARK SURFBOARDS<br />
Units 7 & 8, 9 Chapman Road, Hackham, SA<br />
E: leightonclark01@yahoo.com.au<br />
M: 0422 443 789<br />
HARVEST &<br />
JACK KNIGHT<br />
SURFBOARDS<br />
2/24 Christine Ave, Miami<br />
P: (07) 5576 5914<br />
E: hello@harvestsurfboards.com<br />
HARVESTSURFBOARDS.COM<br />
58
smorgasboarder<br />
Performer Model<br />
9’2” x 23” x 3” Glassed in 7.5oz<br />
Volan with cut laps<br />
Killa Fish<br />
5’10” x 21” x 2 3 / 4” Glassed in<br />
Red resin tint with black rails,<br />
channel bottom twin fin<br />
NMC SURFBOARDS<br />
Barwon Heads, Victoria<br />
M: 0438 800 539<br />
E: nmcsurf@bigpond.com<br />
Different strokes for different folks.<br />
I make surfboards specifically tailored to the rider not<br />
carbon copy cut-outs. Talk to me about your next custom.<br />
Shortboards through to longboards and everything in between.<br />
RABBIDGE SURF DESIGNS<br />
P: 02 4456 4038<br />
M: 0427 767 176<br />
E: markrab88@gmail.com<br />
Flat Deck Gypsy Inbread<br />
5’5” x 19 1 / 2” x 2 3 / 4” 33 litres<br />
Swallow tail with 5 fin FCS2 for thruster or quad options.<br />
Inspired by a combination of retro aesthetics and modern<br />
performance designs to create the ultimate fun board for waves<br />
ranging from 1-5ft.<br />
COSMIC CRAFTS SURFBOARDS<br />
4/34 Sunrise Crescent<br />
Lennox Head NSW<br />
P: 0439 063 811<br />
E: travisbristow@hotmail.com<br />
COSMICCRAFTS.COM.AU<br />
59
smorgasboarder<br />
Volan/cedar<br />
STUBBIE<br />
#surf #surfing<br />
#surfboard<br />
#stubbie #volan<br />
#cedar #cutlap<br />
#singlefin<br />
#australianmade<br />
BLACK SQUARE SURFBOARDS<br />
M: 0407 604 753<br />
E: info@blacksquaresurfboards.com.au<br />
BLACKSQUARESURFBOARDS.COM.AU<br />
Custom Surfboards // Restoration Specialists //<br />
Surfboard Glassing // Anything Fibreglass or epoxy<br />
The Fast & Loose<br />
fish in Quad.<br />
5’3’ x 20.1” x 2.2”<br />
@ 27 Litres<br />
Based on the<br />
traditional retro style<br />
fish outline. Featuring<br />
the latest in bottom<br />
contours with a single<br />
to double concave<br />
through the back.<br />
Made from PU foam<br />
furnished by US<br />
Blanks and quad fins<br />
by FCS fins.<br />
Available also in Twin.<br />
This fish lives up to its<br />
name.<br />
BUCKO’S SURF BOARD REPAIRS<br />
Unit 12 22/24, Arizona Rd<br />
CHARMHAVEN<br />
M: 0422 304 078<br />
E: buckossurfboardrepairs@outlook.com<br />
C-SHAPES – CUSTOM SURFBOARDS<br />
E: c@cshapes.com<br />
Insta: @cshapesmiami<br />
P: 1-786-247-0538<br />
CSHAPES.COM<br />
60
smorgasboarder<br />
OKE SURFBOARDS<br />
1/1-7 Canterbury Rd, Braeside, VIC<br />
P: 03 9587 3553<br />
E: rory@okesurfboards.com<br />
OKESURFBOARDS.COM<br />
surfer @cecisurfskate<br />
photo @marianaquintgom<br />
Shh!<br />
THE LITTLE SECRET<br />
The little secret is the high<br />
performance short board made<br />
for the moderate to intermediate<br />
surfer. We realise that not<br />
everyone can surf everyday and<br />
be as fit as the pro’s, so we have<br />
designed a board to allow the<br />
average surfer to perform in high<br />
quality waves. With a full rocker,<br />
low rails and plenty of foam under<br />
your chest. Available in a step up.<br />
This ones an all rounder for those that like to cruise. With the classic<br />
“single fin outline” and the additional quad fin to really make for a<br />
board with two personalities. Flat deck and beveled rails to carry<br />
plenty of volume and still have a nice performance rail. Glassed in a<br />
grey resin tint. This one comes in at 6’6”x 21” ½ x 2” ¾<br />
Handshaped and glassed by yours truly.<br />
GEN4 SURFBOARDS<br />
E: hello@gen4surf.com<br />
Insta: @gen4surfboards<br />
Facebook: gen4surfboards<br />
GEN4SURF.COM.AU<br />
SJS SURFBOARDS<br />
Insta: @sjscustom<br />
Facebook: Scotty James Surfboards<br />
61
smorgasboarder<br />
Built for you by<br />
Tree to Sea.<br />
If you prefer you can<br />
build one at one of our<br />
2 day board building<br />
workshops.<br />
Our range of Splinters<br />
(9’3”, 9’1”, 7’6”, 6’6”)<br />
are great boards for all<br />
surfers. Splinters are<br />
among the most popular<br />
models in Tree to Sea’s<br />
range.<br />
Splinters paddle well<br />
and catch waves with<br />
ease. Whether you’ve<br />
just discovered the stoke<br />
of surfing or just want to<br />
add a versatile board to<br />
your quiver, a Splinter is<br />
a great choice.<br />
Check out other board<br />
model and workshop<br />
dates on our website.<br />
Splinter<br />
9’3” x 23” x 3”<br />
72 Litres<br />
weighs 6 Kgs<br />
TREE TO SEA<br />
P: 0409 211 751<br />
E: info@treetosea.com.au<br />
TREETOSEA.COM.AU<br />
5’11” x 21 1 / 2” x 2 5 / 8”<br />
single through to<br />
double concave<br />
MORGAN WOOD SURFBOARDS<br />
P: 0413 393 630<br />
E: tyronmorgan@outlook.com<br />
MORGANWOODSURFBOARDS.COM<br />
CHRIS GARRETT SHAPES /<br />
PHANTOM SURFBOARDS<br />
M: 0424 450 690<br />
E: phantomsurfboards@gmail.com<br />
W: chrisgarrettshapes.com.au<br />
Custom surfboards, contact Chris<br />
or see Board Culture at Mermaid<br />
Beach for stock boards<br />
62
smorgasboarder<br />
all things i love<br />
words: tami argaman<br />
Yair tattoed my sister when I was in Tel Aviv for<br />
a family event a few months back. As soon as I<br />
walked into his studio, I knew he was into surfing.<br />
Looking at his designs my interest grew and I was<br />
dying to share his story by the time he told me how<br />
much he loves Australia.<br />
Yair learned how to surf when he was a kid, and<br />
grew up painting on surfboards and shoes just<br />
for fun. Back then he worked as a life guard and<br />
managed surf shops for a living.<br />
“I never considered myself doing something regular,<br />
like a job from 9 to 5”, he says. “I like graphic<br />
design and my parents wanted me to go high tech<br />
but I realised my actual passion were tattoos.”<br />
At the start, tattooing was more like a hobby for<br />
Yair. He started with a cheap machine from the<br />
internet and practised on friends who told him:<br />
“Just do whatever you want.”<br />
“All my designs and styles come from the way I<br />
live”, he says, “the beach, the sea, surfing, freedom<br />
– All things I love.”<br />
Yair travelled Australia in a campervan for 6 months<br />
when he was in his 20’s, he particularly loved Byron<br />
and the Gold Coast and how laidback people were,<br />
compared to busy Tel Aviv.<br />
He has also surfed in the Maldives, in South<br />
America and, sponsored by Corona, promoted<br />
culture, art and surfing in Morrocco.<br />
What travelling taught him was to “never stop<br />
learning” and that “you can do whatever you want.”<br />
That led him and his business partner to open his<br />
Tel Aviv studio Ink Me Baby. They now have six<br />
artists including two apprentices and invite guest<br />
artists over from around the world to their studio.<br />
“There is nothing evil in our tattoo shop, only<br />
friendship, family and good vibes.”<br />
If you happen to travel to Tel Aviv, make sure to visit<br />
@yair_assaraf and the Team @inkmebabyt and<br />
give them some love on Instagram.<br />
“All my designs and styles<br />
come from the way I live.<br />
The beach, the sea, surfing,<br />
freedom – All things I love”.<br />
“There is nothing evil in our tattoo shop, only friendship, family and good vibes”<br />
63
smorgasboarder<br />
support the grassroots<br />
surf directory<br />
alkali adorn<br />
Beautifully handcrafted artisan jewellery with rustic unpolished silver,<br />
shells and precious stones to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Inspired<br />
by the surf and the natural wonders of the sea.<br />
Instagram: @alkaliadorn<br />
raglan surf emporium<br />
Clothing, wetsuits, surfboards, surfboard and wetsuit rentals.<br />
Open 7 days 9am – 5pm<br />
3 Wainui Rd, Raglan<br />
P: +64 7 282 0018 E: info@raglansurfemporium.com<br />
raglansurfemporium.com<br />
the board shop<br />
New Zealand’s Surf Specialists – The Board Shop has been at<br />
the cutting edge of hi-tech epoxy surfboard, longboard and SUP<br />
technology for over 20 years. Drop in or check them out online.<br />
49 Barrys Point Rd, Takapuna, Auckland<br />
P: +64 9 486 0930 | theboardshop.co.nz<br />
coolest spot in town<br />
A front row seat to beautiful Lyall Bay, Wellington’s top surf spot and<br />
the best brunch around!<br />
Located at Lyall Bay in Wellington. Opened 7am – 5pm<br />
maranuicafe.co.nz<br />
new zealand<br />
jiff morris<br />
jeff@smorgasboarder.co.nz<br />
0220 943 913<br />
island surf shack<br />
Gear we carry: Carve sunnies, watches, clothing, boards & surf<br />
hardware, Ocean & Earth clothing & surf hardware, Maddog Boards<br />
& surfing hardware, Bear clothing, Bamboozld Bamboo Socks &<br />
Boxer shorts, Mexican Bajas , Sunbum sunscreen, ILoveEarth<br />
recyclable collapsible reusable coffee cups, Old Guys Rule Tees &<br />
accessories, Nepalese woollen yin yang jumpers & ponchos, Golden<br />
Breed, Hawaiian dashboard hula girls, coconut soy candles, Kombi<br />
giftlines and replicas, fun beach and hawaiian gift lines.<br />
150A Thompson Avenue, Cowes,<br />
P: 03 5952 1659<br />
for<br />
more<br />
enquiries<br />
australia<br />
tami argaman<br />
tami@smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
0<strong>46</strong>6 439 330<br />
smorgasboarder.com.au<br />
64
smorgasboarder<br />
the heart of the surf community<br />
your original surf shop - packed full of the best gear<br />
Celebrating great customer service along with the latest surf gear<br />
and fashion for 44 years and going strong.<br />
T7, 119 Princes Highway, Woolworths Centre, Ulladulla<br />
P: (02) 4454 4904<br />
Instagram: @southernmansurf<br />
southernman.com.au<br />
goodtime surf skate and sail<br />
Caring for a surfer’s every need since 1971.<br />
Goodtime Surf Skate and Sail @goodtimesurfandsail<br />
29 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba 4102, QLD<br />
Car-park at rear of the store, off Gibbon St<br />
P: (07) 3391 8588 E: info@goodtime.com.au<br />
www.goodtime.com.au<br />
surfware australia<br />
So much surf gear in store you will be amazed!<br />
From surfboards to skateboards, wetties, surfwear and all the latest<br />
gadgets. SPECIAL FOR THIS ISSUE: 50% OFF LAST SEASON<br />
WETSUITS (INCLUDES VESTS, SPRINGSUITS & STEAMERS)<br />
2 Bulock Street, Caloundra Qld<br />
P: 07 5491 3620 surfwareaustralia.com<br />
surfing accessories<br />
We have Australia’s hottest new surfing accessories to keep you<br />
in the surf longer. Our innovative products can help you enjoy the<br />
surf and outdoors even more and provide you with protection and<br />
comfort as you follow your passion! Stockists of H2Odyssey webbed<br />
gloves and X-STING-WISH®IT. Organic sting relief.<br />
seeyououtthere.com.au<br />
tried and trusted blanks<br />
Family owned and run for the past 56 years, our consistency is the<br />
best in the world. Our blanks come in a multitude of different lengths,<br />
rockers and weights. We also have an extensive variety of timber<br />
stringers of varying widths. And we have all the shaping tools you<br />
need to make a board from scratch!<br />
5 Stewart Road, Currumbin Qld<br />
P: 07 5534 3777 burfordblanksaustralia.com.au<br />
for your culinary delights<br />
The Rivermouth General Store. Great coffee + speciality teas,<br />
gourmet food, fresh juices, smoothies, art, awesome vibe, surfing<br />
stories + the floor is worth reading.<br />
101 Sunpatch Parade, Tomakin Nsw<br />
Instagram: @therivermouth<br />
Facebook: The Rivermouth General Store<br />
65
smorgasboarder<br />
support the grassroots<br />
raglan longboards<br />
Quality surfboards Long or Short<br />
Short or Long term rentals<br />
Mickey T. custom shapes<br />
Full repair service.<br />
P: +64 7 825 0544<br />
raglanlongboards.co.nz<br />
standup paddle boarding nz<br />
South Island’s complete SUP centre.<br />
Lessons, hire, demo, training, sales.<br />
Unit 2, 1030 Ferry Road,<br />
Christchurch NZ<br />
P: +64 3 384 5086<br />
groundswell.co.nz<br />
up surf coaching trips<br />
Travel with like-minded surfers at your<br />
level, surf fun waves with video analysis<br />
of your sessions, improve your skills.<br />
Designed for intermediate/average surfers.<br />
Locations in NZ, Indo and more to come.<br />
upsurfcoaching.co.nz<br />
surfboards designed and shaped<br />
by mike jolly<br />
Full repair service. Rentals, surfing gear<br />
and good advice.<br />
122 Seaview Road, Piha Beach NZ<br />
P: +64 9 812 8723<br />
pihasurf@xtra.co.nz<br />
PIHA<br />
DOMAIN<br />
MOTOR CAMP<br />
piha domain motor camp<br />
Camp on the beach in front of the iconic<br />
Lion Rock, at one of NZ’s top surf breaks.<br />
Rates from $18 a night for tent sites.<br />
E: pihacamp@xtra.co.nz<br />
P: +64 9 812 8815<br />
preece’s surf shop<br />
Plenty of new and used surfboards,<br />
bodyboards, wetsuits, clothing and<br />
accessories. The only surf shop right on<br />
the coast. Open 7 days.<br />
159 Esplanade, Port Noarlunga Sth, SA<br />
P: 08 8386 0404<br />
preece-sthport-surf.com.au<br />
Holloway Gallery<br />
“Anatomy of a Wave” by artist Col<br />
Chandler, Holloway Gallery is at Moffat<br />
Beach, QLD. We specialise in unique art<br />
to fill your home.<br />
Come in store or see us online.<br />
1 Roderick Street, Moffat Beach QLD<br />
p: 07 5491 5557<br />
hollowaygallery.com.au<br />
sup centre<br />
Life’s better standing up. A one stop<br />
shop for everything SUP with the best<br />
brands, range, prices and expertise. With<br />
access to all the major SUP brands in NZ,<br />
through a nationwide delivery service.<br />
20 Melrose Street, Newmarket, NZ<br />
P: +64 9 520 3366<br />
supcentre.co.nz<br />
brunswick surf shop<br />
Chock full of awesome threads, sunnies,<br />
surf and skate accessories, Therapy,<br />
Matt Hurworth and RA Hand Shaped<br />
Surfboards to have the locals frothing.<br />
1/12 The Terrace, Brunswick Heads NSW<br />
P: 02 6685 1283<br />
brunswicksurf.com.au<br />
66
catching up with kevin<br />
On a recent trip to Northern New South Wales to secure<br />
payment for a horticultural delivery, I stopped in at the<br />
quaint country town of Mudgee. It was about 10 in the<br />
morning and I was gagging for a coffee and perhaps a<br />
little something sweet...maybe a finger bun or a snot<br />
block, even a jam tart - red not yellow of course.<br />
So I’m bumbling along the main drag; barefoot,<br />
bewildered and dishevelled, considering my bakery<br />
complexities when, out of nowhere, I’m slapped in the<br />
moosh by a moist and salty mammalian flipper. And<br />
then I heard him, my old mate Kevin...<br />
Aloha Barry you useless bastard! The man they<br />
couldn’t root, shoot or electrocute!<br />
So, for those of you that don't remember, Kevin the<br />
dolphin was once the darling of the Gold Coast theme<br />
park scene, who ran off the rails, went rouge and<br />
ended up chomping off the paw of a Japanese tourist.<br />
(<strong>Smorgasboarder</strong>: issue #19, 2013).<br />
Turns out Kev decided it was time to turn his back on a<br />
life of debauchery and sleaze, and move to Mudgee to<br />
start a humble business selling recycled marital aids.<br />
It started when he came across an assorted box lot at a<br />
mortgagee’s auction at an abandoned womens shelter.<br />
Kevin ended up locked in a heated bidding war with the<br />
local CWA, which saw him pay a hefty $1500 in what<br />
turned out to be a double ended deal.<br />
Yeah it was the start of a new and exciting career,<br />
but a bit of a tough one to swallow. Most of that<br />
initial purchase was no good, so I had to throw them<br />
away, give ‘em the arse, the quality just wasn’t there<br />
mate. I’m more than happy to admit that I can be a<br />
bit anal, you’ve got to be in this game, you’ve got<br />
to scrutinise every inch of you’re business or this<br />
industry will chew you up and spit you out.<br />
And so what started in a manky bedroom, has now<br />
blossomed with this brand new, light and airy shopfront.<br />
To be honest, I'd love to have more time to<br />
concentrate on expansion and increasing market<br />
share. But in reality my passion lies in building<br />
unique custom pieces. At the moment I’m refitting<br />
a 1972 Jack Thompson Cleo Ceramic with a rebuilt<br />
whipper snipper motor for a client in Grafton. Last<br />
week I repurposed an ‘81 Harlem Globetrotters Box<br />
Set for a gent in Double Bay, and you should have<br />
seen the look on his face! He started to dribble like<br />
Magic Johnson!
BACK TO THE FUTURE<br />
RETRO SOUL<br />
REPRODUCTION<br />
ICE BLUE GLASS TINTS<br />
6’8” SINGLE FIN PERSIAN<br />
SLIPPER FLEXTAIL<br />
OUTER ISLAND SURFBOARDS<br />
P: 02 6655 7007<br />
info@outerislandsurfboards.com