heya vince...
what size longboard are you on right now?..if you're on a board over 8foot,it's best to go down to something around 7foot,down to about 6'8/6'10,but still try to find something that has a little bit more thickness and width to it.

It's better to gradually progress down in size because a shortboard is far more responsive than a longboard.It's really important that you have a solid bottom turn,cutback and trim speed happening before jumping down onto anything smaller.

Taking things in stages,going down in size gradually will also help you develop a fluid style and kick arse turning skills!If you auto. go down from say a 9'1 to a 6'1...you're style and anything you have ever learnt will go out the door!Your surfing will become all jerky and it'll feel horrible as well.With shortboarding the most important thing is to maintain board speed,unlike longboards which pretty much maintain their own speed.

like knefut said,borrow or rent a 2nd hand board before you rush into buying something that might not be right for you.

hope this helps u out a little bit..

cheers,
millie

al,
self belief baby!!!it'll take you a LOOOONG way!

ohhh....surf camp!I get ya now....hmmm,I'm thinking of holding a free surf coaching weekend thingy at the end of the year at LU-see how things pan out.Too many ideas and the 24 usable hours in every day are filled...dammit

zidd,you mean giving up being a mallrat!! no more txting the person sitting beside you!

heya ocean...

i'm not a full-time surfer,i don't think any of us are,but some of us are damn bloody lucky to live close to the beach.i've purposely gone against my school guidance counsellors advice,my parents hopes of me becoming an amazing doctor or other high paying-respected job,my friends opinions and narrow-minded town folk and based my "occupation" around surfing,just so i can get out there as much as possible...sacrifice luv!

but there aint NOTHING wrong with being a WEEKEND WARRIOR!i think that the peeps who dont have the opp. to surf every single day or to see the ocean everyday really savour their time in the ocean more then those who can just ride to the beach and check the surf every single morning...

i was just flicking through a surf mag and i found this letter a guy wrote in and i thought of what you guys said....i think it applies more to those who are in office type jobsI'd really love to see you guys practicing this at work tomorrow...hahaha

"It's mid-morning on a Tuesday and 36hours from my last surf.It was good-glassy,4 foot,sucky and not too crowded-but what can I do now?How can I get that feeling of freedom back?Well,I use a vision to escape from my land of debits and credits,regulatory standards and questionable corporate values.It sounds wacky,but it works.

First,sit in front of your money deriver(ieC,machine or desk).Take your shoes off,straighten your legs,breath deeply and visualise yourself sitting out the back.Use a paper printout or your hand to fan your face.Bonus,your luck has come as the winds turn offshore!The mood is relaxed,but full of anticipation,the water tempered.Telephones squawk like curious seagulls.Take a sip of water,wet your lips,imagine the salty taste.With cat-like sixth sense,you are alerted to a bigger force than you.Turn around,shit!-a fat cat(your boss)!Focus on him like you'd examine an approaching set.Look to your left and at your colleague,give him the kind of look you know means commitment.Tap the desk as you paddle for it.Feel the glide of your board as the wave builds and you snap to upright position in a swift,fluid motion.You let out a "YEAH!" while poor Maurice in the next booth/cubicle looks at you strangely.It doesnt matter,you begin your fall to freedom.

Wow,feel the rush.Look deep into your computer/desk/machine and make a reference point for your bottom turn.Feel the inward pressure on your calves as you make the backhand gouge.The drive and the tension from the board feels great.Up the face of the wave,swivel on your chair to the left and say "thwack" as the bad boy shoulder is hit,and release down the wave and back to the centre.Repeat the move with another "thwack".The mail lady moves behind you.Boy,she's felt your spray and seen a glimpse of your fins.And...she likes them!Your creative juices are tearing this wave apart.It finally runs its course and you turn to the left and peel off.You look back into the office haze,content with the feeling that comes from a good wave.You see the smiles,the anguish and the approval from the faces of the distant crew.You know what they're thinking and also what the fat cat(your boss) is not thinking and could never understand.
-The Garson,via e-mail-"

the letter is in an Oz surf mag..I think that explains it all ..sorry if i've broken every copyright law too...sorry for my massive amounts of crapping on too

HAHAHAHHA!that just made me laugh out loud...poor al -he cops it from everyone...

todd,me thinks that the "visualising surf story" had him drooling,not me!....i hope haha....

ocean...i'll throw out more details when its a bit closer,but i'll def. let you guys know first

There's a guy in Mindanao named DALE,he shapes boards and sells em over at Siargao.You could TRY e-mailing him: d_franco@eudoramail.com

Last time I talked to him was a few years back and then I lost contact,but his boards were priced around 7000pesos which is approx. AUS$250,for a custom board

hey mark,for sure send your kids to Hacienda!
I get a lot of dad's approaching me to teach their kids.The kids are usually left deeply mortified by the thought of the ocean after a "dad's learn to surf lesson" I got a couple of those big softboards yesterday,so I'll be bringing them over and some friends around the coast have donated me at least 10 2nd hand boards to take over as well,so it'll be fun!The excess baggage people are gonna have a field day!

that's cool,no worries..

it is good to see a local getting amoungst it.I think its just the availability of blanks which makes it a little harder for more shapers to set up their own bays over there.

your friends are right!The prices of boards is NASTY!I went in one of the shops in a mall and thought "ok..these boards will be cheaper then at home"..but they're almost double the price!crazy

hey where are you from by the way!?

SAN FRAN!yay!The thing that sticks in my mind about it were these 10 crazy guys from different bands i surfed with-lots of good music there!

you're right hydro..about only the rich being able to take part in surfing and what mark said about leaving your board behind for the kids does make a little bit of a difference to that social status=opportunity b-site!

i've been thinking if it would be cheaper to just send them,so thanks for the info!That'd be really good if sponj could tell me if he receives his board....just in case.i dont want to be sending stuff over if it's never going to get there!if i do bring them over as hand luggage it's going to cost me so much.

I've got the 2 softboards,these 10 2nd handers and 3 custom boards that friends in the Phils have ordered plus my own boards,and I got another 2 boards donated to me today from a couple of guys and the guys at the factory are gonna donate 4 new learner boards before i leave...so it's going towards 25 damn boards!

some of mums friends are going back to the phils throughout the year and they've said they can bring a board each over for me-which is going to be a funny sight and i'm trying to make as many friends as possible come over with me so i can offload some boards onto them!hahaha...damn mission and a half!it'll be worth it though

oh!haha...i get all the little girls on their first time surfing lesson telling me their tales about their "evil surfing dads".One little girl told me a story about her Dad who brought her out the back,she was only 6!he took her out when it was 5ft and left her out there bobbing around on a board with floaties on her arms!...because the surf got too good and he couldn't miss catching his waves!hahaha..obviously he got in the shit with his wife!..thats why i've been coaching their daughter for 2 years now!Dad's are evil creatures when it comes to teaching their kids things!,but..we still love em

hey mark...
i've got my own independent surf/sk8/music/art-fashion label-EILLIM-hehe..yeh it's my name backwards,kinda egotistical,but feh,whatever!

i'm just pumping out clothing at the moment,but i eventually want to use my boardshaping experience to branch out with my own boards and start my own shaping business under my own label.i'm basically doing everything on my own right now and working my arse off to provide some kinda platform for those surfers/sk8ers who wanna break free from the usual bunch of sheep.There's such a void out there and sponsors only want the people who are a certain look,act a certain way and BLAH BLAH,so I'm trying to break away from that pretentious bullshit.

POINT OF STORY!At the end of this year i'm going to hold a SURF FESTIVAL,which will involve the learn to surf coaching sessions..the comp is gonna be less like a standard 4waves-to-the-beach surf comp and more like an expression session-MORE FREEDOM!longboard and shortboard/mens and womens-equal prize money.i'm gonna be scouting for teamriders

*NOTE:TEAMRIDERS!I dont wanna be one of those companies with just a token rider so it looks good for their culturally friendly image ....

but i've been seriously talking with the guys at the shaping bay about sharing sponsorship to bring a couple of guys/girls from the phils to come over here and work with the guys i'm shaping with now so they will have the knowledge to start something over there..so u read my mind mark!

anyways...thats my plans,thought i'd let youse know i guess...i really wanna know if anybody is opposed to any of this,because i don't want to be treading on anybodys toes.my Mum's from the Philippines and it's my second home....I really want to help the locals in the phils establish their own surf industry,their own surfing culture instead of having to rely on importing from O.S,but i'm not from there and i don't want to be doing things which may upset a lot of local people you know?

oh!the guy that was shaping at C9,I think he was the same guy who taught the filipino guys who are shaping somewhere on mindanao now...but yah..blanks are hard to come by.

knefut-hehe...it's cool man,i've got a bit of insight into how the scammers minds rotate in the phils;)

q2002-yeh!was in san fran about..umm..WHEN THE SEP 11 ATTACKS HAPPENED!!had an art exhibition over there!i loved san fran,but i ended up spending some time around venice beach and huntington,then hitching down to mexico with a psycho,just to go surfing..hahaha

fastest typer..no i just say a lot of crap deary! glad to hear your support!

I KNOW YOU'RE MOCKING ME OCEAN! ....

but you know i'm a sucker and i gotta help you out....haha....stupid me

square/squash(rounded square) tails have extreme positive response in turns.They give this burst of speed out of a turn and are super good for throwing buckets of spray into the heavens! a lot of comp. surfers use boards with square/rounded squares cos the bigger the spray you send,that means the bigger turn you've done,which means the higher the score you'll get!

round tails allow smooth flowing turns and are really forgiving which means its harder to make mistakes...rounded tails are best for beginners because they're fairly predictable..but this also depends on the entire dimensions of ur board too!ohh..squash tails are good for beginner boards too..

pin tails are good for rail to rail surfing because the tail is so narrow,so the rail can dig more easily.They sink nicely into the water too,which means that they grip the wave and wont slide out if you gain a fair amount of speed.You'll notice that guns have pin tails because the boards are used in big surf.Riding bigger waves generates a lot of speed,so you want something that will handle it.

swallow tails are made so that they claw into the face of the wave and provide plenty of grip.They dont slide out as much,so they're not super good for busting airs or whatever....

rounded pin tails are crap..hahaha

THE END.

sponj!I dont know everything!I just don't see the point of doing a whole lot of things if i'm not gonna experience and learn from it ya know?

and ocean...that's aight!no worries

hydro!i havent got anything half decent up on the net yet,maybe towards the end of the year.we're shooting some photos for adverts at the moment and getting a catalogue out for spring/summer,so i'll try and get things organised to coincide,like i said..i'm doing every aspect of it by myself,so it takes a little longer to get things happening!there's also so much formal "business" shite to contend with ,plus i got 2 other jobs...so it's kinda hectic,but FUN! cheers for your comments though girl! how was ur surfing experience at LU!?

sponj...damn you boy!freebies...come to LU at the end of the year and i'll be carting some stuff along with me.teamriders..you havent bloody started surfing yet!GRABE!hahaha....I am so going to beat you up and throw you in the water and then coat you with sand when I get there!You're like one of those little smart-arse brothers that every sister adores!actually..you're like one of my younger cousins in Davao!scary...ur not my cousin are you

thanks mark i just hope nobody or at least not everybody is against my ideas..hey!i'll be in ur neck of the woods next month too for an art exhibition!so maybe see you out in the water.....doubtful,but it's a small world sometimes!

HAVE FUN!

yep! rashies-short and long sleeved,boardies,togs/bathers/swimmers(whatever you want to call them...),fresh tees,washed back tees,trash denim,drill pants and shorts,caps,hats..all guys and chicks clothing...the whole shabang is available

did the movie just come out over in the states?cos if so,it won't be in Oz for.....at least another 100 years.hehe..

q2002!NATIVE!..hehe..maybe a distant native yeh?thanks for your words man

FOX have really good quality surfing stuff OCEAN!They're based on the Gold Coast here in Oz..umm..they make only rashies,wetsuits,boardies and that kind of gear-GOOD STUFF!yeh,you're right,the price of stuff has to do with the label....the companies know how to target the people who are totally dictated by what "brand" they wear..it's kinda evil in a way isnt it,espesh the companies who promote themselves as "surf"/"sk8" and they don't even support surfers or sk8ers,kind of sluts the soul of surfing and sk8ing for some BLING!...I so wanna see ARMANI KNEEPADS!!HAHAHA!diamond encrusted ones..that'd be funny


I don't have a website up yet q2002!Won't be up for a few months..maybe.All my sales and exposure at the moment is through word-of-mouth and I think thats the raddest thing,because it means people genuinely are into my clothing,not influenced by "cool" or some expensive media campaign...so adverts,websites and that kind of media won't be happening for a little while yet

sorry to go on another tangent here..but i did some little interviews with Al,Bryant and also Kage..if you wanna check em out go to:

http://pages.ivillage.com/interviewyou/

cheers,
mi llie

thanks trick

al,i'm afraid all the girls have boyfriends...and a couple have girlfriends even if they did come over,you'd have to watch your arse because I've heard lesbians can get EXTREMELY JEALOUS and lash out on their victims...be careful al...very careful...

I've got a pro longboarder friend in the states and she's travelled between LAX and Manila before with 3longboards.She said that you can't exceed 32kg's and the cost is approx.50-75dollars US to travel one way,per board.But you can usually say there is only one board in the bag and they don't deal with the drama of unzipping your bag and unpacking it all to check,unless they're SUPER bored!

A standard boardbag is good,but you also need to add a bit more protection.Airport staff are trained to destroy surfboards Depending on what kind of fins the board has,if the fins are removable it makes life a lot more easier.If the fins are glassed in.Try wrapping a towel around the centre fin and sometimes I get my sk8shoes and put them on the side fins to prevent them from being snapped off and digging into the other board.You can buy special foam blocks that fit over fins,umm...I think they're about AUS$30.You just have to try and create the least amount of area for the board to slide,but not make it so heavy that the airport staff purposely drop it.I usually put a layer of bubblewrap around my boards as well as chuck my boardies and bikinis in along the rails,tail and nose.

the sports traveller thingy with PAL doesnt cover surfboards,only scuba gear like you said and other kinds of water sports,but not surfing..!which is a bit of a bitch!The maximum length board they'll allow is 8feet I think?not positive about that though.I've brought a 9footer over before on PAL....they hassle you a bit,but just smile and be polite and they should let you get away with.You've paid your airfare,you've chosen their airline,so they arent going to give you the flick for an extra foot of surfboard If all else fails,make a huge scene and generally say that their airline sucks..hehe..I'm joking

The shortest board you should go for depends on how tall you are.Just figure out however tall you are,and add your arm span to that...that's the minimum length of board you should be riding.

hope this helps you out a bit ocean!

yep,sorry...I meant one arms length

it'll be worth it ocean!!!trust meh!

If you're not keen on spending extra coin,just hit me back and I can always cart along an extra board with me when I go back to the Phils

hydro is that Cabarita over here!?

Dale said that you contacted him about their boards...pretty good price! ...that could be another option ocean?..the guys are shaping over there and selling their boards for 3-5000pesos for shortboards and 5-7000 for longboards and guns