I spent most of last Thursday morning watching Josh shaping my new board. From his hands sprang an amazing Long Fish Simmons, mixing the best elements of the Skip Frye design with some of his own design touches. She looks great and all the details make sense – I’m sure it’s a keeper!
Josh Hall finally arrived in Lisbon on 22 November to kick off the Portuguese leg of his European shaping tour. Thankfully, the following day dawned bright and blue – a welcome change from the rain and clouds of the previous week, and perfect conditions for a trip along the coast.
The idea of getting a shaper from California to Portugal is nothing new – previously I’ve collaborated with other factories to get the likes of DJ Kane, Jeff McCallum and Malcolm Campbell over to Europe – but I’ve never sorted one out on my own. Until now!
It’s a big leap from a backporch in Florida to a shaping bay at Moonlight, but under Rich Pavel’s tutelage, DJ Kane has made the transition. Famous for his performance fish, on a recent trip to Portugal he explained the origins of the Swordfish, and why he’ll never be cruising on a hull… (Versão portuguesa.)
Entrevista com DJ Kane, DK Surfboards por Rui Ribeiro. (Also available in English.)
Sometimes I feel compelled to leave my work and start something new, something I love, instead of something well paid. I guess this happens to most of us, but who has the courage to see it through? We all have good excuses not to; I know I do – I have to support a family.
I have a ‘thing’ about surf shops. Most of my friends used to spend hours at the local surf shop, just talking, looking and trying to get a discount.
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Carl is the man behind Es-cent-ial. Rui from Magic Quiver in Portugal shares some of his stoke and passion for surfing, and finds out a bit more about him and the Es-cent-ial vision. (Versão portuguesa).
O Carl é o responsável pela criação da Es-cent-ial. Tem sido um enorme prazer falar com ele e partilhar um pouco da sua paixão pelo surf. Nesta entrevista podemos saber um pouco sobre ele e sobre a Es-cent-ial. (Also available in English here).
Rui from Magic Quiver in Portugal chats to Jeff McCallum. This article is also available in Portuguese…
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