Curves and Lines

Posted: Dec 14 2014

Where do you find your inspiration? For me, it's in nature.

photo: Henrik Purienne / http://purienne.com/ / @purienne_

photo: Vincent Calabro / @vitosann

photo: Kenneth Alversa

Shaper Supply

Posted: Nov 24 2014

A few years ago I became obsessed with the idea of carving foam. I wanted to hear the sound of the foam knocking down and see the dust fly off. I wanted the object I've been visualizing to be real. I wanted to feel it under my feet and sink the rails into some turns at my home beach.

The adventure began with a starter kit that by fiancée bought from Greenlight Surf Supply. It was a birthday gift that ruled all birthday gifts.

Starting in October, I spent the next few months in the semi-ventilated basement of our rental house in Long Beach (NY) learning and finding my shape. Tirelessly hand sanding and planing EPS foam. I did everything from gluing the blank, shaping, painting, glassing, polishing, and finally surfing.

The experience was incredible. The board came out better than I imagined, and it worked. With only one session on it, I already had enough faith in my creation to take it on a trip. I brought it to Barbados and ripped apart waves on the south and east coasts. Friends asked to try but I was too in love to let it go for even one wave. It was perfect. It was built for me. Literally. The curves and lines blended into my surfing style seamlessly and it was magic.

If you have a similar desire to make something for yourself, I would recommend these guys to get you going:

http://www.greenlightsurfsupply.com/ - great if you are on the east coast. You can drop in for a visit and pick up blanks, or they will ship. Un-glued blanks are cheaper to ship for residential addresses.

http://www.foamez.com/ - these guys have been around forever. Very fully stocked with all sorts of tools and supplies.

http://shapersupply.com/ - I've never ordered from this site, but I love how clean and organized it is. The Skil 100 pictured in this post is for sale here, if you are looking to mow some serious foam. They also offer shaping classes if you are near LA.

If you have a vision, some space, and a hunger for foam, I can't recommend enough. Build a board and surf the shit out of it.

Here is one of the first turns in tropical waters on my fully hand shaped, handmade 5'9" quad fin fish. Pure fun.

Save the Waves Film Festival

Posted: Nov 12 2014

Check this out.

http://www.savethewaves.org/filmfestival

Look at the video too: http://vimeo.com/110103385.

The energy behind these events is refreshing. I went to the brooklyn save the waves last year-- despite the original first booked venue for this event closing down, the organizers (in a pinch) found a new spot that was weird and awesome.

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Presented by Patagonia, Clif Bar & Pacifico.

Featuring the world premiere of 3 new films and the North American premiere of 5 films. View our complete film program here.

Save The Waves Film Festival is a nonprofit tour and fundraiser in 3 cities on 3 consecutive Fridays in November - a benefit for Save The Waves' environmental campaigns & World Surfing Reserves.

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Recommended. Especially the one in NY (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/save-the-waves-film-festival-brooklyn-tickets-13429753755)

Save The Waves Coalition
Friday, November 14, 2014 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM (EST)
Brooklyn, NY

New York Fish Fry

Posted: May 15 2014

Another great event for anyone in NY this weekend. The 7th annual fish fry at Washington Blvd in Long Beach will be May 17th or 18th. Starts at 9 on the day with the best waves!

**Update: It's SUNDAY May 18th!

New Hampshire, Vintage Snowboards, and Surfboards Glassed with Graphite

Posted: Apr 11 2014

My first trip to coastal New Hampshire happened around the same time I began reaching out to shapers for this website. I was getting to know David Murphy of Imaginary Surf Co. and was visiting him at his shaping bay every so often. He happened to be building boards very near my apartment in Brooklyn. This also coincided with one of my coworkers, named Dale, scooping up vintage Burton snowboards on craigslist (this is a multi part story so bear with me). Dale had helped me with some programming related things on the job so I offered to drive him to his next snowboard pickup. He took me up on the offer and we made plans to drive into New Hampshire and pick up two boards he found, both within a half hour of each other, and a half hour from the coast.

I knew there was a little swell the day we were planning to go, so I could choose to wake up early and go to a NYC beach for a bit before making the trek up north, or bring my gear and search for waves in New Hampshire. I chose New Hampshire. I figured it would be a fun experience and make the 5+ hour drive even more worthwhile. To make the situation a little more interesting, I hoped to grab a board from David Murphy, surf it in New Hampshire and use the photos for a sister website I would call "Surfed Once NYC". I would surf it, write up a review, post up some photos, then try to sell it for him. I called up David and asked him if he had any boards he wanted to sell and he sent over some images of two he had in the shop. They looked good so I shot over to try and pull this plan together.

The board I had my eye on had just got back from a DKNY storefront on Madison and 60th in Manhattan, and it was really something different. A cork inlay on the deck, and graphite powder mixed into the resin, making it black and ultra smooth. David told me the powder is used for race boats, and that this board will fly. To make a long story short, my plan came together perfectly except for one small detail: I never sold the board. I had it in hand, I brought it to New Hampshire, we picked up the snowboards for Dale, I found a little swell, I surfed the board, got the photos, and had so much fun I decided to keep it. Business plan off to a great start! My goal is to help hand shapers sell more boards. So far it's sales + 1, my quiver + 1. More to come, I'm sure.

To wrap up this story, I'd like to give a thanks to New Hampshire. It was winter, and cold, but everyone was sharing waves and having fun. I paddled out with excitement, and felt welcomed. The waves were small but I had a great session. Take another look at the photo at the top of this post. I'm not sure if it's high-res enough to tell, but take my word for it-- all the guys on that wave have ear-to-ear grins.