SB-issue59_digital

“I guess that is why I see
myself nowadays as a
surfboard designer more
than a shaper. I can hand
shape, but I wouldn’t call
myself a hand shaper
by any stretch of the
imagination — certainly not
like some of the surfboard
craftsmen out there.”
gear
“Ado was just such tough love. He was gnarly. My
ego got smashed over and over and over again, but
ultimately he was the biggest influence in helping me
in my shaping career.”
When the work at Rusty became a little sporadic,
Dan began to concentrate more on his own stuff.
When Jay Phillips and Dane Hamilton started their
business called Spot X Productions up on the Gold
Coast, they got in touch with Dan, so that’s where all
of his boards are built today.
“It’s been a bit of a ride. Those guys have been
absolutely fantastic though, and it’s been worth every
cent that I spend on freight.
“I’ve just gelled so well with the factory manager and
the owners there. Banjo is the factory manager, and
then you’ve got Hammo from Hammo Surfboards
and Jay Phillips. They’re the three big guys there.
They’ve got a bunch of glassers and sanders who
work at the factory too. It’s just really light, tight,
bright, and white. That’s how they run things.
“They work equally as well with PU (polyurethane) as
they do with epoxy and carbon. They also tint spray.
They really cover all the bases, whereas factories in
the past would maybe be amazing epoxy glassers,
but they weren’t up to scratch with PU, or they could
do really nice tints, but they couldn’t do airbrushes.
“To be honest, it’s a godsend now that I can send
all my stuff to one factory. I’m one of those super
annoying shapers — I’m so OCD it’s crazy. Those
guys are always open to feedback and it’s really
refreshing. It’s really nice to work with them.
“So, they are all the guys who have played a part in
my development. So many important people have
given me a hand in becoming a surfboard designer.”
Speaking of design, I asked Dan about the focus of
his shapes nowadays.
An excerpt from Dan’s Mana Surfboards website
provides some insight into his inspiration — “From
the tiny wedge-filled beach of his home Frazer Park,
to the heavy water reefs and beach breaks, the
waves of his local region have formed Dan into a
well-rounded and versatile surfer from an era that
prided itself on performing from 2ft to 20ft. Dan has
placed this background directly into his boards,
with his model range covering the entire spectrum
of performance and big wave capabilities.” Dan
elaborated on this perspective.
“Given my upbringing, I am very much focused
on the performance side of things. From the getgo
I wanted to branch out and market myself as
a real 50/50 split designer. I wanted to be known
as someone who can give you the fastest, funnest
performance twin-fin ever, but can then back
it up with a hyper refined, balanced, beautiful,
contemporary shortboard.
“I see a lot of shapers who go into various camps
(different surfboard designs — performance, retro,
funboards) and it sort of doesn’t look all that natural.
“I just want to focus on what I know I’m good at —
performance surfboards from everyday shortboards
to grovellers (performance surfboards with added
volume when the conditions are poor), step-ups, and
guns (big wave surfboards).
“I wanted to always ensure they were on lock,
and that the numbers, foils, thicknesses, curves,
concaves, and everything just made sense. From
there, I based all my alternate equipment on those
performance surfboards, if that makes sense.”
# 59 // smorgasboarder //
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