Archive for Interviews
October 30, 2007 at 5:34 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITY INTERVIEW with Aka LYMAN and Will GEORGE – INTERVIEW done in Sept. 2006
Maybe you’ve heard about it, maybe you haven’t but Will George and Aka Lyman are launching a new board company. Yep ! Some of the best drop kneers out there are gonna release some fresh and nice boards called TOYS. We thought we should talk to Will and Aka about that new project… Here’s what the Dk masters had to say:
1. Hi guys, wassup ?
Will: Not much man whats up ?
Aka: Just chilln with my kids.
2. Can you introduce yourselves for those who don’t know you ?
Will: Will George 27 years old 6 foot tall 185 pounds.My home is Laguna Niguel California and Oahu I think that covers it..
Aka: Aka Lyman 32 Oahu , Hawaii is my home.
3. So what have you been up to lately ?
Will: working on Toys ,surfing , fishing , partying , enjoying life…
Aka: going to my kids baseball games and getting in the water as much as i can. makin toys happen!.
4. You guys are launching a new board company, can you tell us what’s the project and how you came up with the idea for this new board brand ?
Will: TOyS is all about fun and having a good time. I want to have the best boards , the best team , the best fins . I want tOyS to be rockin!
Aka: I came up with ToYs a few years back. I just had to wait for the right time to make this thing right. Were ready now and here we go.
5. What’s the concept ?
Will: I think for me it is for the kids to get the goods! I want kids to get the same level boards that Aka and I ride.
Aka: yeah like Will said. We want ToYs to be by Body Boarders for Body Boarders , get everyone the best boards out there.
6. Are the boards different ?
Will: yeah they’re good!
Aka: hahaha the boards are the same shapes that Will and I ride , we are not putting our names on anything lame !
7. Will you offer more DK oriented boards ?
Will: Yes! we have a board called the YoYo that is for little kids and girls. Then we our also going to have a prone board pro model. I cant tell you who it is yet but ToYs will be signing one of the top prone riders in the world to the team.
8. Who’s shaping the babies ?
Will: Pete Anaya , we also have another shaper coming on board soon!!!
9. Will, can you give us the dimensions and specs of your current board ?
Will: I will tell you this it is 43 inches long , the rest is top secret 
10. Aka, can you give us the dimensions and specs of your current board ?
Aka: Oh man I don’t have them right now , all my stuff is at the factory right now.
11. Both of you will have a pro model i guess, will you ?
Will: yeah a Aka Lyman board and a Will George board.
12. Aka we haven’t seen you on a boogieboard in the mags or videos for a long time, is it a media come back ? What motivated you to be involved in this project ?
I love to surf! plus my kids are getting older now so I’m looking forward to them seeing me surf and them surfing with me. The other main motivation is getting to do a company with some of my best friends. Getting to design all the boards ,ad’s , everything it’s really cool.
13. Will, you left your long time sponsor Toobs to start TOYS, was it a hard decision ?
No. getting to do a company with me and Aka was a dream since I was a kid. We get to make all the calls all the shots for ToYs so it is sick!
14. What’s the typical Will George’s day ?
If the waves are good i’ll surf. if no waves maybe do some fishing with Raffi. recently my days have been working on ToYs and making it happen.
15. And what’s the typical Aka Lyman’s day ?
Kids , kids , kids!!! to much stuff to go through the whole day.I got 2 boys so the work never stops. The waves have been good the past few weeks so the kids have been not going to school and going to the beach with me.
16. What else do you guys do when you’re not in the water ?
Will: fishing , t.v. , baseball , girls , working out , you know stuff like that
Aka: BBQ’s at the beach and golf , I love golf
17. Who do you like to see surf ? who’s got skills on the knee ?
Will: heres my list , Aka , Roach , Raffi , Keith , JJ , Fred , Kainoa , P.Cooper , Leroy , Mason Rose , Lackey , Jacky Buder, that’s all I can think of for now.
Aka: Roach, Will , Raffi , the whole ToYs and Sandy’s crew
18. Who inspires you ?
Will: everyone who playes for the New York Yankees.
Aka: my family!
19. The new company is a full time job for you guys or do you manage to work and do this company thing aside of your other activity ?
Will: full time.
20. When will the boards be available ?
Will: soon very soon! As we do this interview we are taking care of some details and the boards will be out soon!!!
21. Who’s in the team besides Will and Aka ?
ToYs team: Aka Lyman , Will George , Raffi Meyer , Keith Sasaki , JJ Ayala. plus there is one very other very big name DK rider and very big Prone rider who will be joining the crew soon.
22. We’ve seen nice pics/framegrabs of you guys and also Raffi, filming for your new video. Where and what have you filmed so far ?
Will: We have been on location in Mexico , California and Hawaii so far…
23. When will you release the video ?
Spring /Summer 07!!!
24. Do you guys wanna add anything ? any thank you’s ? fuck you’s ? love you’s ? hate you’s ?
Will: ToYs would tour coming to you spring/summer 07… Rock for light!
Aka: Love you’s my family. Thank you’s you guys for the love on your site. That’s it for me…
Thanx a lot Aka & Will – TC at Spongercity.com
August 11, 2007 at 5:57 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
August 2007 – With the up coming release of the NF10 dvd “DECADE” and the massive success of V*I*D*E*0, we thought it’d be cool to interview the man behind both vids and see what he has to say about the new NF dvd and bodyboarding video editing in general. Todd Barnes kindly answered our boring questions and here you go: The Todd Barnes Interview. Read, learn, get inspired, go surf, film, edit… and watchout coz NF10 is about to smoke your TVs! Oh… and keep frothing with this little photo gallery from NF10 that Todd send us: View the NF10 Decade Gallery.
View separate pics: Photo1 | Photo2 | Photo3 | Photo4 | Photo5 | Photo6 | Photo7
Hi Todd, how are you?
Busy
Can you introduce yourself for those who don’t know you?
Todd Barnes, 23 years wise
You’re the man behind the great VIDEO DVD; can you tell us how you got into bodyboarding, video editing and eventually editing bodyboarding videos?
Bought my first camera at age 17, practiced the ancient art of scrunching paper, then BOOOOOM…. VIDEO was born
You’re into art / fashion design as well with the « I am none » clothing aren’t you?
I’ve studied Fine Arts & Graphic design, and recently started the clothing brand
« I AM NONE ‘ with fellow art fag Dave ‘I’m way too tall’ Fox.
So this year you got involved with No Friends for their 10th video. How did this happen?
After continuous meditation, I was channelling spirits to move events and inturn have Ross McBride call and ask me to be their new editor… it happened.. WOW!
Ross and the NF crew had a precise idea of what they wanted for NF X « Decade » or did they let you do your thing?
Apart from being chained to my computer for months at a time, I had complete creative freedom. Obviously certain sections had to be created.
So, basically Liam O’Brien filmed everything and gave you the footage to edit?
Yeah Liam Shot tonnes of cool shit for me to edit with. In particular one crazy day in Mexico with Dre. Although this footage wasn’t included in the DVD, anyone wanting to view it can on you tube…. Just search for ‘Dangerous and maybe illegal things to do in Mexico’
You kept your own style of editing and tried to adapt it to the NF feeling?
For sure… actually not sure… I just tried to make something people will want to watch over and over…. That’s what I used to get from the older NF DVDs
Did you feel the pressure to do good because it’s NF and you knew it was a challenge to do this?
Not sure if pressure is the right word… I would say I always have high expectations for every project I’m involved in and this one was no different. Meeting those expectations meant putting in 12hr sessions to make sure all edits were super tight. As far as Pressure from Ross and Liam they were cool.
Stoker used to film and edit the NF videos ( from 1 to 5 ) then he didn’t get much time to film so he basically edited what Crawley filmed ( from 6 to 8 ) then Liam took the reins from both Stoker and Crawleys hands, and now you’re editing Liam’s footage. Do you think it’s better to film and edit your own stuff because you’ve got more control on everything and your own way to film or is it comfortable sometimes to wait until someone gives you footage and then you do the rest?
When it comes to filming you have an idea of what you’re trying to capture… a big move, heavy barrel, some sort of moment, a rider’s character etc… So when it comes to editing you are just cutting those moments together… When it’s someone else’s footage you’re editing, you have to in compass what the filmier was trying to capture as well I guess.
I remember Stoker said it’s quite hard to edit someone else’s footage because you don’t have the same approach and you don’t know what to expect. Do you agree?
I wouldn’t say hard, id say it’s harder… Especially when you run out of footage for an idea you have. But I could never say editing bodyboarding films is hard, I like them too much
What can we expect in the video? Oz? Tahiti? Hawaii? Any new locations?
Pixels, Explosive Bodyboarding, Glitches, Stupid Interviews, Amazing fisheye angles, A World Title, TV Screens and more… O yeah Massive Chopes !!!!
Any Roach part in it?
No. Although there is a Lackey Section and he is BLOWING UP !!!!
Is there a sort of retrospective on the last 10 years?
There are a few parts in the DVD that reflect back on some of the first few Films… some classic old footage and a few stories.
The Teaser is awesome, we can easily recognize your style of editing in it. Does The whole video has that same arty / rock n roll feeling ?
Teaser is a 50min DVD squeezed into 1 1/2 minutes… there may be minor differences
What about the soundtrack ? Did you chose it or did you discuss about it with the riders or the NF crew ?
The only one I had contact with was Ross. He requested his own song. As for the rest I found an old BOYS II MEN mix tape from the nineties and went from there
Did you watch NF1 back in the days ? Did you ever thought you were gonna edit NF10 one day ? How cool is that ?
To be total honest I didn’t get caught up in the Whole NF craze till about the 3rd or 4th Film… I was more concerned with crossing my legs, wearing Churchill’s, doing drop rolls and bashing letterboxes (sorry to all those innocent victims). But as I got more into filming I defiantly acquired copies of all the earlier releases and needless to say I was inspired
Todd, thanx heaps for your time and for answering those questions. This is the last question, you can chose it. What would you want us to ask you ?
This isn’t a question rather a PLUG…. Go check out I AM NONEs latest range of TEE’s & HOODIES at www.iamnone.com… then buy some and look cool
Any thank you’s ? Love you’s ? Hate you’s ?
Thanks to my computer for not crashing, I love you
xox
THANX HEAPS TODD
Spongercity.com
December 2, 2006 at 5:47 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITY INTERVIEW with Jono BRUCE – INTERVIEW done by Dave L. in Dec 2006 – 30 Last Words
AHHHH we had to track Jono for weeks to find him and send him the questions for his interview. It’s been hard but we did it. Nah just kidding. Well, partly, it’s not that easy to interview the most underrated sponger out there and one of the best guy on a sponge. Thanx Dave for helping me on this one. My buddy Dave tracked Jono down like an eagle would hunt a pray and … oh fuck, no, he interviewed Jono while i worked on the ‘arty’ part of this interview, put all this together and put it up on the site. Uh what else ?
Enjoy.
1. Last surf you had : yesterday at a local reef only small but still fun
2. Last mind-blowing barrel : about two mounths ago at the same spot.
3. Last board you loved : one of my old ones that i was borrowing off a mate.
4. Last trip you went on : ages ago to the south coast
5. Last bodyboard movie you watched : visions 2.5
6. Last rider who blew your mind : jake stone
7. Last time you got dropped in on : cant remember
8. Last time you were scared : cant remember
9. Last thing you bought yourself : food from the shops
10. Last car you rode in : kennys yesterday
11. Last time you got lucky : yesterday
12. Last injury you had : sore hand from punching a pokie macheine when it ate my $5
13. Last song you loved : Alice in chains rain when i die
14. Last thing that made you cuss out loud : all the time it doesnt take much
15. Last punch you threw : at the pokie machine
16. Last time something changed your life : dunno
17. Last video part you were stoked on : hardys stuff in any vid
18. Last time you stand up surfed : fucking ages ago
19. Last thing you broke : glassses all the time when drunk
20. Last time you took a picture : the other day on my mates camera
21. Last book you read : the dirt motley crue
22. Last website you visited : alice in chains
23. Last magazine you read : Movement
24. Last time you lied : dunno
25. Last girl you kissed : my Girlfriend
26. Last time you wished you were alone : when in crowded surf
27. Last time you wished all your mates were here : whenever drinking
28. Last time you thought you were gonna die : dunno really..a couple of beatings seamed heavy but dont know about dieing.
29. Last time you felt inspired : hearing a good cd or seeing someone ripping on a bodyboard
30. Last time you said « it’s the last time » : all the time…
Thanx a lot Jono – Dave & TC at Spongercity.com
December 1, 2006 at 5:43 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITY INTERVIEW with Glen”PENCE”THURSTON – INTERVIEW done by Dave L. in Dec 2006 – 30 Last Words
With the recent release of their new “the ROAD” DVD, Glen and his buddies Michael Novy, Brendon Newton, Harry Dixon, Grizzla, Ryan Mattic and Adam Benwell got themselves a ticket to stardom. Some were more considered as rookies whereas others were already well-known by the media. After watching “the ROAD” (filmed by Glen’s older Brother Bryce Thurston) you’ll understand that none of those young fellas are ‘rookies’ anymore. They all put their lifes on the line to score some of the best waves & slabs Oz has to offer and it seems that they all came back from “the ROAD” experience stronger and more talented than ever. Glen’s section in “the ROAD” is a proof of how good and driven those guys are. We wanted to know more about Glen, one of “the ROAD” project originators and actors and thanx to my buddy Dave who helped interviewing Glen while i did the illustration & coding part of the interview, this is just what we came up with:
1. Last surf you had : Just surfed suck rock in cronulla, sideshore 4ft, whish i was at home
2. Last mind-blowing barrel : When i was in South Australia at a certain spot…….. on the road dvd.
3. Last board you loved : My current board is my sexy beast at the moment. awesome shape.
4. Last trip you went on : The road project
5. Last bodyboard movie you watched : Denis
6. Last rider who blew your mind : Chris james
7. Last time you got dropped in on : Last time i was up in sydney hahaha. Lifes a bit hectic around these parts. Tension is normally high in the water.
8. Last time you were scared : Out at a 15ft bombie with just my bro and novy out. had some crazy clean ups. that was before I had christ in my life. since then I havent been scared at all.
9. Last thing you bought yourself : I styled haircut at bondi junction
10. Last car you rode in : My mate turtles ( jem cresswell) lil excel hatchback
11. Last time you got lucky : When i was in perth at the casino after the tension 9 premier.
won quite a few hundred dollars. an paid for my whole trip
12. Last injury you had : Cyclops foot injury. see riptide 153
13. Last song you loved : Kanye west. Jesus walks
14. Last thing that made you cuss out loud : Turtle almost rearending a really expensive car. haha
15. Last punch you threw : Ages ago. had 9 dudes jump me at a party .
Yes i took em all down haha. i used to be into that back then
16. Last time something changed your life : the cyclops injury changed my whole world. that when i became christian
17. Last video part you were stoked on : Video
18. Last time you stand up surfed : 3 days ago fixed up my old mini mal. did some crazy floaters
19. Last thing you broke : I cant remember. IM not a clumsy guy.
20. Last time you took a picture : Probably on the road trip. borrowed Novy’s digy cam to take some shots of the lil guy. haha
21. Last book you read : The calling. (by brother andrew)
22. Last website you visited : Spongercity just then to see what it was like before i filled this out. hahaha
23. Last magazine you read : Riptide 153
24. Last time you lied : cant remember
25. Last girl you kissed : mY mum
26. Last time you wished you were alone : last week. needed some time out after 10 days with the turtle
27. Last time you wished all your mates were here : When im surfing pumping waves by myself. Its always good having a few good mates to surf with
28. Last time you thought you were gonna die : Out at Lunas with chris james ( the grizz) we surfed maxing 12-15ft luna park scary stuff. but God had my back.
29. Last time you felt inspired : last night after reading “The calling” and this morning seeing the ocean
30. Last time you said « it’s the last time » : Our last trip to lunas. driving 13hrs sttraight coping 3 fines and hiting a kangaroo….
Thanx a lot Pence – Dave & TC at Spongercity.com
October 6, 2006 at 5:59 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITY INTERVIEW with Tyge RICHARDSON – INTERVIEW done by Dave L. for Spongercity in Oct 2006 – Last Words
We decided to Interview a few australian Rookies (you’ll discover the next interviews during the next few weeks) on Spongercity with my good mate Dave and among them there was Tyge Richardson. I’m wondering what’s the definition of ‘Rookies’ now when you see Tyge charging more than most of the pros in the lastest magazines and videos. Remember that crazy wave Tyge caught on Oz East coast last April ? a good 15 to 20 footer, towed by Alex Leon. He charged a bomb and received the “beating of a lifetime” as you might have seen and read in Movement Mag issue 12. Althought Tyge seems to think that his parts in the latest videos where just ‘average’, i’m telling you they’re definitely not ! Tyge is a cool cat, really humble and talented and i bet you’ll see Mr Richardson more and more on the international boogie scene…
1. Last surf you had : punta colarado, 3 ft closeouts
2. Last mind-blowing barrel : about 2 weeks ago. Zigatella, Puerto. Backdoor on sand. Ask sam grey about it. Poor some more salt in the wound.
3. Last board you loved : a royal blue 4play. Shaped by jarrod Gibson. It was’nt even mine. Haha, my mate [bryce Thurston] gave up bodyboarding..so I started riding it. And fell in love. He took it back though. bastard.haha.
4. Last trip you went on : im on a trip in mexico as we speak
5. Last bodyboard movie you watched : I forget, been watching more standup movies. New mick fanning movie is good. Stand up movies tend to have more quality footage, more creative too. Like 16mm and stuff. Which is what I enjoy watching.
6. Last rider who blew your mind : slater. and scarlett hitting 8 ft sections at Puerto. Bang.
7. Last time you got dropped in on : few weeks ago, by a longboarder..haha it was dangerous. Cracker wave too. Spewin’.
8. Last time you were scared : bodysurfing colarado shories, paranoid about driving my neck into the sand.
9. Last thing you bought yourself : food last night
10. Last car you rode in : clives bullshit black 4WD truck.
11. Last time you got lucky : every morning I wake up, I feel I am lucky. But to answer the question directly, well lets just say the spa has been getting good use.
12. Last injury you had : popped shoulder month ago
13. Last song you loved : walking with the ghost, by tegan and sarah.
14. Last thing that made you cuss out loud : 10 footers on the head at Puerto. I’m sure The whole beach heard me roar.
15. Last punch you threw : 10 minutes ago, training. Incase a Mexican tries to steal my cash. golpearé su concha del asno con el pie.
16. Last time something changed your life : travelling has changed my life. For many reasons.
17. Last video part you were stoked on : none yet. Been pretty average I thought.
18. Last time you stand up surfed : 2 days ago. On my bodyboard. But on a fiberglass stick was a few months ago. Was with my dad at home one the south coast of NSW.
19. Last thing you broke : both my boards, here in mex.
20. Last time you took a picture : yesterday. Self portrait Of my tan, haha. Fag.
21. Last book you read : angles and demons. Dan browns work. The best.
22. Last website you visited : myspace.com
23. Last magazine you read : tantra ‘how to last 10 hours’
24. Last time you lied : can’t remember…try not too.
25. Last girl you kissed : a german, named Cynthia wilson.
26. Last time you wished you were alone : surfing a wave at home. I would pay good money to be alone there…
27. Last time you wished all your mates were here : last night on the mescal. Would’ve been siik to have all the fellas here.
28. Last time you thought you were gonna die : walking off the beach after being with a groce Norwegian chick I fell down this old well in the ground. Then a dog attacked me wen I was climbing out. Like an unfortunate string of events. I thought I was in a dream.
29. Last time you felt inspired : after reading angels and demons
30. Last time you said « it’s the last time » : I don’t plan shit like that. If its gonna happen it will. No last time for anything, just the beginning of something new. If u didn’t like the way u did it the first time, Do it a different way.
Thanx a lot Tyge – Dave & TC at Spongercity.com
May 1, 2006 at 5:41 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITY INTERVIEW Dave”WINNY”WINCHESTER – INTERVIEW done in May 2006 – Last Words
Dave Winchester has been rippin’ for years now, getting insane coverage in about every video and magazine coming out these days and it was high time we interviewed the phenomenon. Like his buddy Ben Player, Winny opted for the LAST WORD kind of interview, keeping the questions and the answers more fresh and spontaneous. So here we go, here’s what’s going on in Winny’s life on May 06 :
1. Last surf you had : At the box 2 days ago, about 4 foot
2. Last mind-blowing barrel : North point 3 days ago, got one good one.
3. Last board you loved : The board im on now, still loving him.
4. Last trip you went on : To west aus yesterday
5. Last bodyboard movie : You watched 
ennis
6. Last rider who blew your mind : Rawlins
7. Last time you got dropped in on : 3 days ago at north
8. Last time you were scared : Last night when simon ormerod told me a ghost story
9. Last thing you bought yourself : A boat
10. Last car you rode in : My little hyundai excel
11. Last time you got lucky : Not betting on the mundine/green fight, i was all for green but mundine won
12. Last injury you had : A hangover
13. Last song you loved : Nasty girl by biggy
14. Last thing that made you cuss out loud : My boat motor not starting
15. Last punch you threw : At guy trying to hook up with my girlfriend
16. Last time something changed your life : Hawaii
17. Last video part you were stoked on : Tension 9
18. Last time you stand up surfed : A week ago
19. Last thing you broke : My toe
20. Last time you took a picture : Yesterday of a toy
21. Last book you read : David Beckham
22. Last website you visited : Qantas
23. Last magazine you read : Fishing world
24. Last time you lied : To Ben Player the other day about a girl’s name ha ha
25. Last girl you kissed : Girlfriend amiee
26. Last time you wished you were alone : This morning
27. Last time you wished all your mates were here : Everynight when enjoying a beer
28. Last time you thought you were gonna die : Hawaii
29. Last time you felt inspired : Everyday something new
30. Last time you said « it’s the last time » : 2 weeks ends ago, massive night drinking…
Thanx a lot Winny – TC at Spongercity.com
January 10, 2006 at 5:49 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
Spongercity INTERVIEW with NICK”MEZ”MESRITZ
INTERVIEW done in January 2006 – 20 Questions with Nick Mesritz aka MEZ
Nick Mesritz has been shaping boards for more than 15 years and is now running one of the biggest bodyboard factory out there as well as his own label : NMD (Nick Mesritz Design). Nick is kind of a guru shaping-wise and a wise man business-wise. His experience in the boogiboard industry and his skills in the shaping room are great. This is the longest interview i’ve made so far, and it’s quite rare actually to get to interview Mez coz’ he is such a busy man. Mez took the time to answer my questions thoroughly and if you wanna know how a good board is shaped or what’s going on in the boogie industry today it right here :
1. Hey wassup Nick ? Where are you right now ? What are you up to ?
I just flew back to Indonesia tonight after a good Christmas holiday with my family in Australia. Back to work at the factory tomorrow.
2. First of all can you tell us how you ended up being one of the most famous shaper out there these days ? What’s your background ? How did you get into shaping ?
I guess a lot has to do with luck, plus heaps of hard work and long hours. I have been fortunate to work with legends like Mike Stewart, Ben Severson and Jack Lindholm and also modern day versions such as Ben Player, Dave Winchester and Andre Botha. These guys all know what works and Mike especially, has been great to bounce design and construction theories off. I got into shaping by working my way through several factories from my start in the Broady factory in New Zealand, to running Rheo in Aus, then working with Buzz and the Toobs team in Cali, back to Aus to set up Mez customs and Toobs Australia, Morey with Broady again in NZ and now I live between Indo and Aus. It’s all been an amazing trip and learning experience. All along the way I worked with the industries best shapers and the sports best riders, which has defined my ability and refined my skills. I don’t know about being famous, but now that I’m an old man, I guess enough people have heard my name to recognise who I am .
3. NMD has a solid reputation all around the globe and a solid team now but i guess it wasnt easy to built your own brand, what does it take to build one’s board brand and make things happen ? As the history of our sport shows it’s not just marketing and team riders that make a good brand even when the products are good…
I had been making other peoples brands for long enough and I always wanted my own label, so NMD was a natural progression. By knowing the history of most of the bigger companies, I could see what I needed to do to hopefully succeed and what I needed to be careful to avoid. Basically learning from other peoples mistakes and triumphs. I think I also have a distinct advantage in that I am still involved, and oversee, the day to day production of my boards. There is so much that goes into keeping the brand fresh, its not just materials and designs, but the graphic aesthetics of the branding and packaging is very important. Then you’ve got marketing through team riders and magazine exposure. It’s full on, but also fun.
4. What does it take to be a good shaper ? You learned all the basics with Buzz from Toobs. What did he teach you ? Toobs pretty much set the standards of todays shaping – all good shapers learned with Toobs or 4play pretty much but very few people know it. What makes your shaping method one of the most effective design-wise and quality-wise ?
Buzz Morasca is the one who showed me how to actually custom shape a bodyboard, designed most of the machines and laminators I use and taught me all about materials and their interactions with other materials during both fabrication and actual surfing. He’s a bloody genius! Both Brian Peterson and I worked for Buzz in the early 90’s and from there went on to spread the love. Brian headed production for EBW making the initial Science boards, then started Vortex. I went back to Australia and started up Mez Boards, which included my custom business and stock Toobs and Quik production. I had a falling out with my partners and I left to head design at Morey. Both Todd (Quigley) and Jarrod (Gibson) were working with me before the 4Play brand was launched, with Todd learning the Buzz method directly from me and in turn, teaching Jarrod. in reality, 4play is simply a brand and now that its owned by Manta, it no longer has any physical connection with Buzz methodology or his manufacturing techniques. As for the actual shaping method and its effectiveness; the cutting process is quite simple, and can be repeated time after time to produce accurate templates. Its the lamination that’s the real skill. With Buzz’s laminators, you can calibrate the rockers during both slick and deck applications, which allows you to build tension into the board. One of the reasons why a flat board works best, is because it has optimum balance between the deck skin and the slick skin. When you laminate a board, you apply the slick skin first and the combination of heat and pressure causes the core to form negative or reverse rocker. The same thing happens when you laminate the deck skin, this time causing positive rocker. When they are balanced, the final board rocker is almost flat and the positive deck rocker is equal to that of the negative slick skin rocker. The net effect of this is that the board has built in tension caused by the opposing forces of the deck and slick skin. This gives the board awesome recoil and projection properties. There are a few other things, but those are trade secrets. As for board quality, I believe that simply comes down to materials and machinery, and I use the best I can at all times.
5. Do you still surf as much as you want to ?
I have a young family in Australia and Indonesia is not the safest place at the moment, so I travel backwards and forwards between Indo and Aussie. Also, the factory I run in Indo has been growing like crazy over the last 4 years and the more work we do, the less surf time I get. As a result, I only got in the water 6 times last year. I hope to surf a lot more in 2006 !
6. Do you test a lot of things in the water or do you leave the test thing to the team riders ?
I mainly leave this to Ben and Winny, but sometimes its hard to get them to try the stranger designs. I also use the groms on the NMD team to try new ideas, as they tend to have an unbiased opinion on things..
7. What’s your board right now ? (precise dimensions / materials – stringers or not – PP or PE etc…) Are you picky for your own boards ? have you got any little things you like specifically ?
I’m a big guy (186cm and 105kg) so I need a thicker board for my weight. My current board is Nose : 12.75″ – Width: 22″ – DFN: 19″ – Tail: 18.75″ – Length: 43″ – 51mm PP Core, Surlyn Slick, Sealed Air Deck and Rails, Bat Tail,12″ long x 3.25″ wide Graduated Channels, Nose Bulbs, Double Stringer, Concave, IXLPE Nose and Tail Bumpers. It’s finishes out at @ 58mm thick, which works well for me. I like simple shapes, so there’s nothing too tricky going on. I am trying out a concave hull, Ben’s been riding them for the 1.5 years and Kingy swears by them. Though I haven’t had any really good surf to test it out in yet.
8. Ben Player who rides for NMD just won the ultimate title, he’s the world champ,that’s awesome. Did you throw a party with Benny ? How’s that, a world champ in your team ?
Yeah, I’m so stoked for Ben. It’s been awesome watching him grow. I was there when he went for his first photo shoot for Quik back when he was @ 14, and we lived in the same house during his 1st Hawaiian winter in 95/ 96. Since then we have both worked with Quiksilver, then Morey and finally he joined Crawley and I on NMD. During those 10 years we have both learnt so much working as a team and to see him take out the big one is just awesome ! We have a party planned for when he gets back to Aus and I am flying back to join in the fun, it’s going to be huge!
9. How do you come up with a Rider’s pro model ? Let’s say i’m Ben Player or Winny, i want a board and i have specific ideas on what i want – dimensions etc… What are the different steps to chose my model ? Do you refine little things until i find the board perfect ?
Ben and Winny ride boards that are quite similar. You will notice that most of the top Aussie pros, like Ben, Winny, Hardy and Rawlins all ride Sealed Air Deck, Surlyn Slick, Dow core, Crescent Tail, Channels and a Stringer. They all have subtle differences with their board dimensions, but the construction is virtually the same, which tells you that this material combo works well for all 4 of them. That doesn’t mean its going to work well for the average rider. These guys are mostly riding waves with real power, so they aren’t looking to generate speed as much as controlling it. The Dow combo allows them to do just that. When we make a pro model, we have to take into consideration that the boards need to work well in all conditions, not just 10 foot Pipe. Once we know what works, lets say for Winny, then we take a look at his actual board and see if it’s going to work for the masses. Sometimes it will, other times it wont. You have to remember too, that Winny has a number of different boards for various conditions. So, we take his most versatile template that works best in most waves and modify it so that it will work well for the average rider straight off the store shelf, but keeping it true to Winny’s actual board so that he could also ride it if he has to. It’s usually bullshit when companies say “this stock board is exactly the same as what our Pro Rider rides”.
10. Do the pros you work with know what they want or do you propose things ? also do the pros often change things on their boards and try new things or do they stick with what they like ?
Most know what they want, the Aussie’s have been getting customs from either myself, Todd or Jarrod for most of their carrers so they know what works for them. I do propose various features for them, or suggest dimensions if I feel they are getting to radical with their specs. I like to push them to try different things, otherwise we would never get progression. We both learn from each other and slight adjustments from year to year usually add up to big changes when you look back at what you were shaping, say 3 years ago.
11. Who’s the most picky team rider ? the most annoying one ?
Ben and Winny are pretty picky, but that’s not a bad thing. They know what they want and what they need to help them perform. They certainly keep me on my toes. The mosty annoying one doesn’t ride for me anymore, so someone else has to deal with his shit – ha ha ha !
12. What’s the typical Mez day ?
6am – 8am: Wake up to the sound of prayers (Indo is the largest muslim nation on earth and they prey 5 times a day). Eat some nasi goreng and then have my driver, Pak Mujab, drive me and Dan to the factory.
8am – 10am: Quick check of the morning’s e-mails and then a briefing on the previous day’s production with my production supervisors. Then a rundown of new orders, shipments due to go out and outstanding orders plus any pending issues that need my attention. Then its time to reply to the e-mails.
10am – 12pm: Walk the factory floor, checking production quality etc. More e-mails and check material stock control.
12pm – 1pm: Lunch, more rice and unidentified meat substance.
1pm – 4pm: If there’s team customs on order, then you’ll find me in the air conditioned shaping bay. It’s 30-33 degrees celcius everyday in Indo, so the AC is a must. Otherwise its more office work.
4pm – 5pm: E-mails yet again. Another walk of the factory floor. Check with production plan for the following day then it’s home for dinner, or off to a movie (cheap in Indo @ 2 Euros) or off to the gym. Most free nights are spent designing NMD artwork etc.
10pm – 6am: Lights out.
13. The reasons are probably obvious for a lot of people who work in the BBIng industry but maybe not for the average 15 year old sponger: why did you chose to build your factory in Indo ? What are the advantages & drawbacks ?
We could no longer compete with Asian made boards and were pretty much forced to move offshore. We chose Indonesia because the business was basically going bankrupt in New Zealand and Indo offered us the benifits that go with manufacturing in Asia (cheaper labour, rent and quicker, more cost effective shipping for our raw materials, which are mostly made in Asia). When you are making a board for X and someone moves offshore and offers virtually the same board for half of X, then you will loose your business to the cheaper competitor every time. It’s sad, but very true. Either you stay where you are and go broke or move offshore and put yourself in a position to feed your family.
14. It seems that a lot of companies nowadays decided to either move their factory abroad / have their boards built by someone else or regroup their production with another brand. Do you think it’s a ‘normal’ evolution in the Bbing industry because you need to stay competitive? What’s your opinion ?
As with question 15, its getting harder and harder to keep production in places like Australia and the USA. Once the first real bodyboard brand moved their prodcution to Asia, then the writing was on the wall for the rest of us. I wouldn’t say its normal, but it is definatley a worldwide trend and is not limited to just bodyboards. Clothing, shoes, wetsuits and accesories. These are all made in Asia and most of this production was moved there way before the boards. I’ve seen two major Australian brands stay loyal and try to carry on their production in Australia, both have gone bankrupt and are now owned by someone else who has moved their production to Taiwan to remain competative. It comes down to price, and no matter how good your boards are, if you are even a few dollars higher than your competitors then you’re going to find it had to sell your product. Small, local factories with a solid custom program are the only ones that have a real chance to survive in Australia and the USA. They can keep their overheads low, as they are generally soul operators and don’t need massive amounts of factory space.
15. You’re in a more confortable position maybe because now a lot of brands come to you and ask you to build their boards. You build a lot of boards for famous brands, i dont know if we can name them in the interview though (let me know). How does it feel ?
I can’t name all the brands, but I am privilleged to be building boards for most of the top names in the Industry. They all push us to build better boards each and every year, which means that the riders are getting the benifits. Most of these companies come up with fresh design ideas and that also pushes our production capabilities, which is a good thing. You never want to get stale. Progression is the key.
16. Do you have your own little habbits compared to what you learned with Toobs ? Do you use any computer programs etc. to help you build perfect boards now ?
I pretty much still use the basic techniques Buzz taught me back in 94. There are little things, like the way I shape the channels and concave’s, which I do my own way and the way I finish-roll the open seams, but the bulk of my shapping habbits are Buzz-Tech. As for computer programs, all the stock boards we manufacture are shaped by a custom made robot profile machine. Its one of a kind and people trip out when they see it. Part of my job is to transfer the handshaped Master Boards into computer code and enter that into the computer. It’s a time consuming process to build the codes, but once that’s done, the robot can reproduce any specific template at the push of a button.
17. Do you wish you had another job sometimes ? What would you be doing if you werent a shaper ?
I wish I could still be in Aus fulltime, but I love my job. I guess if I wasn’t a shaper I would be a chef. I love to cook and that’s what I was going to do before I started making boogies.
18. What’s the craziest board you’ve ever shaped ?
Probably a giant board for my brother’s best friend. He is the captain of the New Zealand Basketball team and plays pro ball in Europe. He’s over 2 meters tall and weighs @ 140kgs. The board was massive and super thick. Almost 70mm finished. I shaped it with all the latest performance features and it looked just like a regular board, only super sized. He actually surfed on it too, which would have been quite a thing to see.
19. Ever thought about shaping a surfboard ?
Been there, but it didn’t interest me at the time. I have been thinking about shaping a few more sometime soon. Just to keep the mind fresh and test the shaping skills.
20. Who are the next wave of Shapers ?
There’s Todd and Jarrod @ QCD who are killing it down in Australia. Tully @ Function and Eddy @ Unknown make some great boards. Dan Sivess is an up and coming shaper who worked with me In NZ and has been here in Indo for the past 4 years running the production with me. He’s shaping all the HB team boards and some of my NMD’s too. Definitely one to look out for in the future. I know Brian Peterson has a couple of protégés under his wing @ Vortex and I’ve seen a couple of nice Primo boards from France. Rossi rules it in South Africa and PMA is still going strong in Cali. I think the riders are in good hands for a while yet.
THANX A LOT MEZ – Theo – Spongercity.com
December 20, 2005 at 5:38 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
Spongercity.com – INTERVIEW with BRANDONFOSTER
INTERVIEW done on the 20th of Dec 2005 – 20 Questions with Brandon Foster
Brandon FOSTER has been travelling the world for a couple years now. We’ve seen him everywhere, from Icy barrels to tropical locations, the Old Dirty Brandon is living the dream. Well, almost, coz’ the ODB ain’t travelling in 1st class seats and ain’t staying at 4**** hotels either. From being an underground South Af’ ripper to getting worldwide coverage and his peers respect (4th place in the DK Riptide Peer poll) there’s a lot of commitment, talent and frequent flyer miles… Enjoy the ODB interview :
1. Hey wassup Brandon ?
MMMM Nothing much bru just chillin gettin amped to surf Waimea Shorey in the next few days.
2.Can you introduce yourself for those who dont know you ?
Well my name is Brandon ‘ODB’ Foster. I am originally from Durban, South Africa but i now live wherever my OWA board bag is. I have traveled all over the world surfing mainly remote areas of this wonderful world God has given us. I am a 98% dropknee rider who prefers bigger waves. I love life and Jesus Christ who allows me to live this wonderful life as a professional bodyboarder.
3. Where are you right now ? what have you been up to ?
Well as i said i am in the Second Nature house on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Just finishing up my year of travel. I have been down in Mexico filming for the new Second Nature Film. Then i was over in New York doing the tourist thing with David Hubbard and Chuck Guarino, while also competing in the Ricky Miller Contest in North Caroline.
4. You just got 4th in the Riptide peer poll, how’s that dude ? congrats’
Well thanks definitely one of the pinacle events in my bodyboarding career. It feels great that my peers think that of me and makes me real proud that all my hard work is paying of
5. You’ve been travelling a lot and it seems that you’ve become famous for that, where have you been so far ?
HAHAHAHA well that could take all day but let me just full you in on my year: Oahu, Maui, California, Baja Mexico, England, Iceland, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Rarotonga, Tahiti, Puerto Escondido, New York, North Caroline. Yeah its been a good year.
6. What was the best destination among all your trips ? The best wave you’ve surfed ?
Well outa everywhere i would say Iceland was top of my pops. Its got sick waves, incredible terrain and scenery, nicest people and some beautiful ladies ha. The best wave ever surfed would be a secret wedge in Australia.
7. You got a lot more coverage the last couple years and you’re now considered as one of the main guys on the knee. Was it hard to prove everyone you were as good as them if not better ? Did it come naturally, after a few trips and a lot of time spent in Hawaii ?
Well i never was really competing for the number one spot or any real spot among the top guys. Just kinda happened really. I just wanted to get as much coverage to try make it as a pro so that i could get paid to travel and see the world and as it happened along the way i managed to break into the top ranks of the world dropknee pool. So no complaints, i still cant believe a small fry from North Beach, Far Bowl, in South Africa could get paid to see the world and bodyboard some of the best waves God has given us.. I thank God every day for that.
8. You got really nice waves in ABC, how was that trip ? You just met the guys for the “Middle Earth” section of the video did you ? Tell us about the waves & the experience.
Well the idea was great i love guys who are thinkers and explore as this crew was. I have a lotta respect for Mickey Smith and we are good mates so i love traveling with him. The other riders, Brendo, Crashy and Dixon all rip too and pushed my DK to other levels. Love that. So yeah we scored sick waves and i will return to middle earth. If you can figure out where it is, go, its sweet.. one of my favourite trips ever. yeahhhhhhhhhhh A BLANK CANVAS
9. You surfed in Iceland too, did you ? I guess that was a cool experience as well.
As i was saying best ever bru, cold as hell but soooooooooo sick. I mean i loved it. I cant explain you will have to go to experience what its like to get shacked with huge glasiers in the background and pufins swimming round you. aaaaah i gotta go back. So much to do sooo little time. All i can say is get of your asses readers turn the computer off and get out there.
10. You live in SoCal. when you’re not on a plane or somewhere on the planet looking for waves but you’re from South Africa. You grew up in SA ? Where about ? Did you start surfing there ?
Well yeah i stay in california for part of the year but its only about 2 weeks at a time and about 2 months in total a year. Yeah i grew up in Durban, South Africa still live there 2 months of the year. Waves are sick there and its one of my favourite places to go hang out. I started surfing when i was about 0 my dad was a surfer so he got me on a board when i was not even 1 y.o. yet. I surfed from young but fell in love with bodyboarding and now i do it for a living… finished story ha.
11. Why did you choose to DK ?
As i was saying i used to surf so when i bodyboarded i loved doing dropknee cause i got the same feeling as surfing but i could still prone too thats what i loved about bodyboarding. I changed to almost full dropknee outta the challenge i feel dropknee brings to me i mean its sooooooooo hard to dropknee its nuts i love it, just getting up and bottom turning takes incredible timing and balance.
12. What kinda board do you ride ? dimensions ? Shape ? materials/stringers ?
Well i ride a custom x ODB/FOSTER model available at all good websites like actionbeach.com the dimensions are 43inch long, nose 9.25inch, 21.25inch wide point and the tail is 18.25inch its made of high density polypropylene core white lightning deck high density surlyn slick bottom v tail. Its a mainly dropknee shape with a little prone ability too. My boards are shaped by John Castro, a incredible shaper, i am soooo happy with him, thanks man.
13. Are you picky with your boards ? do you try different things or do you stick with the same board & shape all the time ?
I am very picky and i have a great shaper who has stuck with me over the years, John Castro of Custom X has helped me get the sickest board and i am sooooo happy.
14. What is Second Nature ?
It is a crew of dropknee guys, Matt Lackey, Mason Rose, David Hubbard, Luke Hall and me who joined up with Ralph Sanchez to make an all dropknee video on the riding, adventures and lives of the top dropkneers from around the world.
15. Favorite guy to watch surf ? Who’s got skills on the knee ?
Wow, i like a lotta people, stand outs are definatly Jeff Hubbard, Raffi Meyer, Roach, Lackey, Mason Rose, Luke Hall and David Hubbard.
16. Do you think anyone will be as good as Roach or Lyman anytime soon ?
Well on their days some of the boys like, lackey, Mason etc.. can rip just as hard but we will have to see those two seem to have been enigmas that came and have been hard to replace.. God gave them sooooo much talent.
17. Who inspires you ?
My Dad and Jesus Christ in life but in the water anyone who is having fun in the surf can get me amped to rip.
18. What are you projects for the future ?
Well i have my range of travel bags coming out from Nuisance called OWA (ODB WORLD ARSENAL) bags. Then we’re also working on the Second Nature Video at the same time doing the Road Warriors Tour in South Africa.. busy year.
19. There are 20 questions in the interview and the next one will be the one where i ask you if you wanna thank anyone etc. but this is question number 19 and it’s an open one. You’re gonna choose the question here. What would you like me to ask in this one?
Mmmmmmmmmmm ha. So Brandon can you give us something cool you just read ?
Sure man i have cool things : (Put your name where the dots are !)
Dear ………….I saw you walking and laughing with your friends today. So i painted you a beautiful sunset and created a cool breeze to bless the end of your day. As you lay in bed that night i used the moon to light your face only to see tears. Tears i wished you would allow me to dry. How i longed for you to call I raised the sun the next morning for you and protected you on your way. I shouted out to you through my crashing waves and pounding water falls and yet you still did not call. How i would love to tell you how much i love you and show you the plans i have for your life. As you walked with your friends again and i re painted the sunset you love so dear, my heart broke. But i will never turn from you or forget you. I will always be there for you. JESUS
20. Any thank you’s ? love you’s ? Fuck you’s ?
Well first off i would like to thank my sponsors who help me sooooooo much thank you so much : www.custom-x.com , www.actionbeach.com , www.nuisance.net , www.transformedclothing.com , www.xcelwetsuits.com .
Then i would like to thank Jesus Christ my saviour for giving me freedom from this worlds rule to live the life he created me to live.
THANX A LOT BRU – Spongercity.com
September 20, 2005 at 5:56 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
INTERVIEW done on the 20th of Sept. 2005 – “Last Questions” with Tim Jones
I was lucky to come across photographer and ex pro bodyboarder Tim Jones the other day and jumped on the occasion to interview him. Tim is as busy as a minister nowadays being one of the best photographer out there and has shot some of the nicest pics you’ve seen in the mags (both boogie and surf mags, and ahhh ! yeah ! girls with super small bikinis too), contributing to all of the major surf and lifestyle publications worldwide as a senior photographer.
Tim managed to answer my ‘Last time’ kinda questions between two photo shoots and a bad jetlag tiredness. I thought it might be cool to have Tim answer directly on the paper and then scan it to give the interview a ‘raw’ feel. So here’s Tim’s interview, as fresh and raw as it gets. Thanx heaps Tim. Enjoy.
June 1, 2005 at 5:53 pm | Spongercity Interviews News
SPONGERCITYINTERVIEW_BRIANSTOKES_A.K.A.STOKER
INTERVIEW done on the 1st of June 2005 – Questions with Brian Stokes – STOKER
I managed to talk to Stoker about the latest No Friends video : Roadhouse and about other things. “The premieres of the new Dvd went really well and people seemed really amped on it” said stoker when asked how things were going. He added “I had few kids come up to me and say that is was the best vid since NF1 and 2″. Stoker went back to “the old school way of editing”. “Simplicity is better sometimes” said the master, “I personally think NF3 and NF5 were the hardest to edit, but sometimes people don’t want stuff like that. We took the NF1 feel and tried to imitate it. The music is more on the lines of NF1 with old school 70’s, sort of 80’s mix, punk rock, hardcore, and some just some good music in general. Everything from Johnny Cash to It Dies Today. There has been a good vibe on the video. I have been amped. This will possibly be my last video so I want to go out with a good video. I was pretty amped with what turned out”. Here are the few questions i asked Stoker to let the playbord.com visitors learn more about the Stoker’s thoughts on the latest release and life in general :
1. I heard the footage was kinda all ozzie stuff, is it true ?
Yeah, pretty much, MC (michael crawley) shoots mainly in oz and with oz riders, so apart from the nf riders sections, there are mainly oz guys. Its not necessarily all filmed in oz, its just mainly oz riders. Not too many kids show up from America or other places anymore like they used to. I think people should start contributing footage from all over the world and get people known, etc. It would be a good way to show world support. It is hard to get tons of people in the videos ya know. The filming is mainly done on trips so unless there are other people on those trips, its just the guys that MC films.
2. If yes was it different from the other videos ? or did you enjoy it just as much ?
I think the footage is heavier in this video. Some good west oz spots as well as just heavy waves in general. I like all the australian waves as well as just outer islands stuff, etc. I think this video brings back the older NF style of editing like in the early vids.
3. Did you film a little bit for this video or did Crawley filmed it all ?
MC films them all now. There was actually some stuff contributed by a local kid in my hometown of pismo beach named zach nicholas, some from daniel armstrong, and some from christian “tomate” peralta and jeff hubbard. i don’t film anymore for NF. The past 3 videos have been shot by MC entirely.
4. No Roach part in it ? wassup with that ?
Roach doesn’t surf anymore. There is no money for him in bbing so he has to make a living. Its not like he is 18 years old anymore. He has a baby and needs a stable job. When he does surf, if someone wants to film him, send me the footage, we would be amped. Being 31 years old in the bbing industry is pretty old ya know. I think Lackey and some other dk kids are taking over now. Sort of a bummer though cause Roach owns it…. still does.
5. You said it might be the last NF vid you edited, i guess you’re pretty busy with your job, will you film and edit a new bobyboarding project later maybe ? or is the bbing editing over for now ?
I am pretty much done. My job being a dvd author takes most of my time and its really hard to work a 9-5 job monday through friday, then work 2 months out of the year doing 12 hour days 7 days a week. It is really tough doing that and having a family, kid, etc. I wanted to go out with a great video and i think this video will be the one i go out on. I have ideas for a sick all 16mm video to film maybe someday if i ever get the chance. A documentary just telling it like it really is. The ups and downs and just everything about the scene, tons of interviews and just all sick stuff. Maybe in the future, but not anytime soon.
6. Since you didn’t film a lot since NF6 do you think the last couple videos still had the same feeling / mood as the first videos ?
Yes and no. I filmed totally different than MC does so there is going to be a different feel to the videos. I try to match it in editing, but its really hard. I mixed up a lot of 16mm stuff that just had that look of lifestyle ya know. That is why for this last video we wanted to do something totally like how NF1 and NF2 were. Same sort of music and style of editing, simplistic is sometimes better. But since i stopped filming, it was nearly impossible to make a similar video to the older videos. It sucks how people always compare videos to older videos, etc. We never wanted to really make the same videos each year. That would be lame, but people always compare stuff to NF1, etc. it is pretty lame. But we tried to cater to that, so this last video was just a shot back to NF1 and that style. i hope everyone likes it.
Thanx a lot Stoker
No problem. Hope that was good .
SPONGERCITY.COM – NF8/Roadhouse Dvd review coming very soon on playbord.com !
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