Mark Price steps down from Firewire....

[teeroi]

A car vs custom surfboar is not an apples to apples comparison.

But please I would love to buy a custom made truck manufactured by people I know that live on my island where the majority of my money spent stays in circulation.

And yes please make that locally custom made truck cost less and is comparable performance wise to a mass produced corporate built truck that cost 5 -20% more.

I tried to post things from my own pov and experiences but I’m not the only one that posts here that has long term shaper/surfer relationships. That’s why the anti-FW feelings are so strong with some.

I saw or heard an interview or maybe he posted it here. Mark Price said something to the effect that FW can’t kill the backyard shaper or small label guys cause it would kill the pool of creativity and innovation that FW depends on.

So even if you’re a devotee of made overseas highly marketed boars buy a boar from a local builder every so often to keep that pool of creativity going.

 

[ChaseTMP]

Monopoly indeed. But Futures are made in CA I believe. Plenty of other outfits too.

Making your own seems about as real as it gets. That's awesome.

A large portion of Futures are made in CA. Their goal is to eventually get the overseas manufacturing back here.

 

[Havoc]

surfer shaper relationship is one of the most important for surfing progress.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

surfer shaper relationship is one of the most important for surfing progress.

This guy gets it

 

[estreet]

surfer shaper relationship is one of the most important for surfing progress.

So where exactly do you rank on the pro circuit?

I think that’s what Deforest meant about silly. You guys are hilarious.

 

[Retropete]

How much do your t-shirts cost?

What my RipAQuikBong ones? Not sure why the question about t-shirts?

 

[Retropete]

If Ukraine started making Firewire boards I might have a problem.

What about China?

 

[ReForest]

What about China?

You know what… with the amount of problems we are facing in the US right now, yeah, I might have a problem if the boards were made in China.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

surfer shaper relationship is one of the most important for surfing progress.

It's 100% true.

I'm not talking about the shaper's rep either.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

So where exactly do you rank on the pro circuit?

I think that’s what Deforest meant about silly. You guys are hilarious.

Nothing to do about ranking on the pro circuit.

 

[surf-shot.com]

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Surf icon famous for Hawaiian campaigns, game-changing surf brand and “Shakespearean dance with cocaine”, dead of throat cancer. “He was a bull at full charge with six banderillas stuck in his back!”

South African surfer turned clothing baron, Michael Tomson, who was revealed to be gravely ill with throat cancer three months ago, has died, aged sixty-six. Tomson had reportedly been on life support for nine days before passing away. As the surf historian Matt Warshaw wrote in our initial...

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[Retropete]

You know what… with the amount of problems we are facing in the US right now, yeah, I might have a problem if the boards were made in China.

I have 2 CJ Nelson thunderbolt red boards which are premium priced boards (I didn't pay that price for them). These are sold by Firewire. I'd naturally assumed they were made in their Thai factory with thunderbolt tech. I'm in the rather unique position of having spent 11 years working and living there and wifey is Thai and our 3 kids (2 born in Thailand and one in Australia) are all dual citizens so feel a great connection with the country and its people.
Cleaned all the wax off one of them. While it was outside in the bright sunlight I took a look at the small Thunderbolt red sticker which is maybe 1&1/2" diammeter. I was just able to make out some tiny small print around the edge. Made in China.
So it's the same with all the Thunderbolt red boards and I assume the even more expensive silver and black ones.
Won't be caught out by that deception again. I very much doubt the country of manufacture of the Thunderbolt boards is common knowledge and reckon a lot of people would draw the line at Chinese made boards (especially at the prices Firewire ask for them) all things considered.

 

[estreet]

Nothing to do about ranking on the pro circuit.

It suggests that you deliberately train and don’t just surf for fun, and that a shaper acts as a personal coach to a significant degree. It also suggests that you choose shapes that are challenging and outside of your comfort zone in order to progress your surfing rather than aesthetics.

Where have all the soul surfers gone…

 

[bird.LA]

Adult learners are too much sometimes.

 

[estreet]

Adult learners are too much sometimes.

Didn’t you just get a custom Pyzel? How’s that customization going to progress your surfing exactly?

 

[casa_mugrienta]

It suggests that you deliberately train and don’t just surf for fun, and that a shaper acts as a personal coach to a significant degree. It also suggests that you choose shapes that are challenging and outside of your comfort zone in order to progress your surfing rather than aesthetics.

Where have all the soul surfers gone…

lol

This is so far from the truth it’s literally hilarious.

FWIW the best boards I’ve ridden in the past few years were boards my shaper chose for me. By a mile.

Worst boards were the ones I chose OTR.

If I knew what worked in what waves I would be designing the board myself.

 

[estreet]

lol

This is so far from the truth it’s literally hilarious.

??? Right, that's what I'm saying and it literally made me laugh as well, though at the time the wine may have exaggerated the feeling.

FWIW the best boards I’ve ridden in the past few years were boards my shaper chose for me. By a country mile.

I love colloquial expressions like that. Anyway, boards can be "best" in various ways. Two different ways they can be appreciated are functionally and aesthetically. You could choose a particular board because it'll help to progress your surfing, for example, or you could choose a board because you like the way it feels to ride it.

If I knew what worked in what waves I would be designing the board myself.

Not really true. You know the difference between a HPSB and a groveler, for instance. And again it can be more than just function.

 

[SurfMission]

Frostys favorite spot has devolved into a circus through the years. That is where he learned to surf fairly recently so of course his view on all of this is going to be skewed. I honestly think that the harbor is a complete kook fest on most days and not really worth the hassle.

I'm guessing that most of the people on the opposite side of the argument grew up with a different set of rules as it was pre cell phone camera. Back in the day it was the Wild West and good luck not getting burned or much worse if you showed up at "our" spots on a board from another part of the state much less the world. Get the F outta here with that thing.

He's just a product of what surfing has become.

 

[teeroi]

It’s still like that. Lots visiting pros or Joe’s pick up boars from our local shapers for the winter season. Tokoros, Glenn Pang, Minami, Rawson, Pyzel, etc.

When Trestles had a CT the pros would order Mayhems.

Make sense the local shaper would know their local waves the best and design a model accordingly.

I posted this before and it goes to why building a surfer shaper relationship is vital to me being able to stay on shortboars and surfing adequately at my advancing age.

I asked Wade Tokoro to make me a 6’0 as a DD for the NS. Asked if he could lower the nose rocker and widen it. But to give the tail a little more kick so when I do catch the wave I can still stand on the tail and turn.

Wade took the MX a hpsb he worked on with Mick Fanning and did the adjustments. He named it the MX-(minus).

I picked up the boar and the next morning saw Wade and crew at an Eastside spot. Wade wanted me to ride the boar he was on the Lemonade. So we swapped. He said my boar was basically a new model. The Lemonade became a good summer seller for him.

Later on closer to summer I asked Wade to make me a 5’10 MX-. He did and when I picked it up he said after riding my 6’0 he wanted to bring the hard edge up a little higher to give it more release cause he didn’t adjust for the kick in the tail rocker on the first boar. I told him I doubt I’d noticed. He said he thinks I will. Of course the boar was more lively, freer, inserts whatever buzz word doesn’t trigger, cause it was 2 in shorter.

But just that commitment to making little adjustments is so valuable to me.

I’m far from ever being pro talent and not looking so much to progress but slowing the inevitable regression. I think having a shaper I can work with really helps.

 

[Retropete]

@ReForest what's your thoughts on my post about Firewire's Chinese board production?