Cycling goes surf

Pactimo creates limited edition custom cycling apparel from their Colorado base. They approached me with the idea of producing some Australian/Surf-inspired kits to add to their already impressive designer gallery. Naturally I was stoked!

The first design to roll off the line is inspired by some of my favourite Australian surf breaks. Check out the gear here. To celebrate its release, Pactimo are offering the Surf apparel at 20% off for a limited time — what better excuse to treat yourself to some cycling goodness before they run out?

Drawn Lines on Liquid Salt

I'm honoured to be featured on Liquid Salt this week, amongst some pretty illustrious company. Not sure how I managed to sneak in but I'm stoked! Big alohas and mahalo to the editor Glenn for tracking me down.

You can read my interview here.

It's ok to get skunked

Originally inspired by a section in Thomas Campbell's Sprout, we recently visited Sri Lanka — specifically Arugam Bay. Naturally expectations were high. But like all real-life surf trips (as opposed to the ones you see edited in movies) the forces of nature don't always come together in the way one would hope. In our case, this meant that some of the breaks we (well, mostly I) wanted to surf weren't working at all, and the others, while fun, weren't performing to their full potential. After traveling for thousands of kilometres to surf it's a bit disheartening to know that for whatever reason, you'd lucked out.

Despite this, we had a great time. What surprised me most was firstly the number of stoked surfers we met in the water who came from landlocked countries, who either only surfed once a year or who were complete novices, absolutely charging. The second surprise was how amazing the local people were: genuinely friendly, funny, hospitable and with freakish memories — after a few days you couldn't help but feel you were friends with everyone in town.

Even though we did manage to get some fun waves, at the end of the day I still think that on the surf front, we missed out. But as this trip proved to me, sometimes it's ok to get skunked.

Fin-tastic

It's been a while since I posted anything here... The day job has been really hectic of late, involving scooting back and forth across the ditch (for the uninitiated that means going to New Zealand — land of the long white cloud and the world's best ice cream). So I haven't had much time to do any drawing, let alone post about not doing any drawing.

However, good mate Azza has been busy shaping me an Old Salty model pig. I decided to go with a pretty traditional colourway, but wanted to spice up the fin. I have a couple of metres of Mambo fabric with a Reg Mombassa print that I procured from an outlet sale about 10 years ago, and have been wondering what to do with it ever since. I reckon it's been put to pretty good use here! Now I just have to decide what to do with the rest of it...

Stoked on shelving

You might be wondering how a post about shelving made its way here. How are shelves surf-related? If I may draw a slightly long bow...

Ever since a very small person came to live with us, it's become increasingly imperative that we get some adjustable storage. And what better than custom-made shelves constructed from 60-year old reclaimed timber and industrial steel? The whole process was such a labour of love that it seemed only fitting to document the final construction.

And the relevance to surfing? The wood originates a stone's throw from MR's home break. The builder Kyal is a shredder in his own right (and now also a minor celebrity thanks to appearing on a recent season of reality renovating TV show The Block). And the shelves are now home to, among other things, our precious collection of The Surfer's Journal — safely out of reach of tiny hands (and mouths).

Jolly Roger

Finally, The Jolly Roger. This model is still in prototype phase, so if you want to find out what the finished boards are like, check back at the Sealegged blog.

Fat Kid

As well as old-school aficionados, Sealegged caters for shortboard enthusiasts with the Fat Kid — but don't let the name fool you, this thing is more like 'phat with a ph' than Norm from Life Be In It (remember him?).

Ten Pin

If you're looking for an all-conditions longboard the Ten Pin is a good start — lighter than a log but tough enough to withstand a few knocks. And hopefully a board you can get your piggies over (mmmmm, there's that bacon again).

Old Salty

Old Salty is the name given to Sealegged's pig model. I love a good pun, and I also love bacon. This may be the perfect board for me.

Captain's Log

Azza has been shaping various longboards for a while now, but there are some shapes that are requested more frequently. The Captain's Log is, as the name suggests, a heavy single-fin longboard, perfect for navigating with style through little peelers.

Boiled Lolly

The Boiled Lolly is a 2+1 stubby that got its name from the delicious colourway of the very first one Azza shaped. It's almost good enough to eat, but probably better to ride.

Sealegged: Quadzilla

A while ago I designed some 'shaped by' decals for Azza Frost of Sealegged. With production steadily increasing, there are now some models based on the most popular designs, and I've created logos for each. Over the next few days I'll post them all, but here's the first: Quadzilla. A four-finned shred sled that tears through the surf like a giant reptile on the rampage.