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gear<br />
Hemp-powered<br />
You may remember Stephen Halpin from our last edition as<br />
the shaper who miraculously transforms venetian blinds<br />
into beautiful wooden surfboards.<br />
Every surfboard Stephen shapes is created with the<br />
belief that we all have to look after the environment<br />
however we can. Based in Coolum Beach on the<br />
Sunshine Coast, he is the founder of Shapes by Steveo<br />
and uses recycled wood, sustainably grown timber and<br />
eco-friendly materials wherever possible to create his<br />
boards.<br />
Having been around docks and aircraft hangars for<br />
most of his childhood, Stephen has always had an<br />
appreciation of hydrodynamics and aeronautics.<br />
Growing up, he was constantly building and tinkering<br />
with timber. This, paired with his passion for surfing,<br />
made him want to learn more about how to design his<br />
own surfboard and experiment with a board’s lines,<br />
curve and flow.<br />
After moving to Noosa at 26, he studied the subtle craft<br />
of surfboard manufacturing under many well-respected<br />
shapers. Now, Stephen has his own business designing<br />
and manufacturing a variety of surfboards, although,<br />
wooden boards is what he truly enjoys the most.<br />
Most recently, he has delved into the vast capabilities of<br />
hemp in his new eco-friendly board range: Hemp Tech.<br />
Stephen said his Hemp Tech boards are made from<br />
a variety of hemp materials such as hemp flax, cloth,<br />
linen, silk, a basalt/hemp woven cloth, and they use<br />
recycled polystyrene blanks with organic epoxy resin.<br />
“I use the leftover polystyrene that I get from Brisbane<br />
factories. When I get the re-ground and re-blown blanks<br />
I then put in sustainable plantation timber –<br />
Paulownia for the stringer.<br />
“There is also a minimum amount of<br />
fibreglass that is used when making it, so it’s<br />
a lot greener than a normal PU surfboard.”<br />
Each board is fully handmade in Australia<br />
from the start of the shaping process to the<br />
finish and has the personal touch of a handpainted<br />
logo on each. In addition to being<br />
eco-friendly, Stephen said hemp comes in a<br />
lot of different styles of fabric and can make<br />
for a very beautiful board.<br />
“Hemp has a greyish sort of look to it, but<br />
the linen can come in any colour that you<br />
want. Hemp flax comes in a light or dark<br />
chocolate and the hemp silk is white with a<br />
pearly sheen.<br />
“Hemp was used all over the world until it<br />
got outlawed and plastics began to surface.<br />
I’d really like to see a comeback in it,<br />
because it can do everything plastic can do<br />
and a lot more.<br />
“Hemp was the past, and it’s going to be the<br />
future, because people are starting to realise<br />
the number of plastics that are in the ocean,<br />
and just don’t want to see it anymore.”<br />
shapesbysteveo.com