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    My New Fireball

    Today I got my “Fireball” back from The Glass Lab, which I handshaped earlier in the year in The Shaper Shack at The Sydney Surf Pro. The dimensions are 6’1 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 coming in at an estimated 30.5L. I am so happy with how the board turned out and I am looking forward to getting her in the water at Long Reef tomorrow #superstoked.  

     

    For the second year in a row Vissla built a pop-up shaping bay on the promenade above North Steyne Beach at Manly during the Vissla Sydney Surf Pro. The idea behind the buildout being that while competitors pop off air reverses in the soft beachbreaks, shapers could work away in the shack, connect with other foam mowers and ground the event in true surf culture simply by working on their craft in a public space.   With all of the talent that rotated through this shack, Vissla created The Shapers Shack: a four-part series featuring discussions with some of Australia’s finest surfboard shapers. From inventing the thruster to developing renewable materials, incorporating artificial intelligence into shaping and scaling a global business, these shapers share their blueprint and speculate on the future. Click here to tune in to Part 1 of the Surf Splendor podcast featuring Nick Blair and Simon Anderson.  

     

    I was stoked to be part of the Shaper Shack experience and podcast. The crew at Vissla put together an awesome shaping bay allowing the spectators get up close & personal with the process of making a surfboard. It was great fun to get the saw & the planer out again, and craft something completely from scratch. I chose to run with a Fireball Fish, a shape popular back in the 90’s pioneered by Tommy Peterson. It’s got a step in the rocker, heaps of channels, and was super fun to shape for the crowd. And now I get to try the board out!

      
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