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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

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