Peter Schroff

Inspired by the love of twinnies and a friend of ours who's just had Peter shape him a quite fantastic board, here's a quick look at a few more 80's gems from the fevered mind of Mr. Schroff. He was known for his involvement in the whole flouro driven 80's Newport Beach scene. He started shaping in his early teens and influenced by Wayne Lynch and visits to Australia, he refined his twin fin designs to very high degree. Deep V, baby swallowtails and wider shapes, he played with all and built some rockets before choosing the art world as his main occupation. He's recently come back to shaping, and judging by Sean's board, he's not lost any of the fire.

More Surfboards From Neal Purchase Jnr.

5'8" Quartet

6'2" 2+1

6' Duo

6'8" Duo

5'8" 2 +1

Barraging you with NPJ photos, but another box arrived (and there's another one due soon) which is pretty fun for those of us who like a good modern surfboard with some retro elements. These shockingly inept photos don't give you a proper feel for how clean these boards are. Neal's been working with this slightly eggy shape for a while, he surfs it and refines it and has it absolutely down. Rails aren't fat and boggy like a lot of retro influenced shaped, there's a little deck roll on thicker boards to keep the foam where it needs to be, but nor are they bladed to the point where the board becomes a struggle to turn. It's these fins too, the Duo setup is amazing given how much fin there and it's something that Neal has spent the last few years playing with and tweaking and adjusting. Design in action, and it's good. If you're interested in one of these rather fun surfboards, we can get you organized with a custom very quickly and easily., just email foamandfunction@gmail.com for details.

Mick Mackie In The US

The latest Mackie creations, including the new deep sidecut.

Mick, on one.

Kidman photographing Mick's quiver a couple of years back.

Roots. The original deep swallow tail flex experiment before haveing Simmons style keels added. Always experimenting....

We are extremely happy to say that Mick Mackie will be in the US from the end of this month doing some shaping, both here on the West coast and on the East Coast at Glide in NJ. This is not only a chance to get your hands on one of Mick's shapes, it's a chance to try the latest progressions drom one of the most eclectic and creative shapers out there, a guy who has walked his own path amid the chaos of what a modern surfboard should 'be'. We're currently channeling custom orders to Mick for his west coast stint, so if you're interested in one of the sidecut fish or his newer baby swallow tailed single fin gliders or anything else he might come up with, please email foamandfunction@gmail.com and we'' get you set up. Obviously there's a limited number of boards Mick can do and they'll all be hand shaped customs glassed by the guys at Trim in Santa Barbara, or we can arrange to get the blank to your glasser if needs be. Get on this, it'll be worth it.

 From Andrew Kidman's 'Lost In The Ether'

AK: What do you think of where design is at the moment?

MM: It's great. It's opened up and diversified. There are great contemporary shortboard shapers out there, there's great 'retro' shaping for want of a better word. There's a lot going on and it's all exciting. Mark Richards said that he found it invigorating that all this stuff had come back. I like that, As a shaper it's unreal, it's a good journey.

A Few New Ones From Neal Purchase Jnr

Our Antipodean cuzzy Neal Purchase Jnr has been working like a beast since his return form shaping, surfing and supping in La Belle France. Here's a few from the first batch received with more on the way very soon. From the top: a stunner of an area pintailed Duo that's bound for Chile, a nice little bumtail Duo that our San Diego readers may see blasting along local waves, and an all business Quartet that's joining another Purcho gem in Florida. Neal has these boards so dialed in it's amazing, the in house Duo has rapidly become the go-to board as the swell fills in, and the 2+1 is a complete all rounder. If you're interested in some of Neal's shapes, email foamandfunction@gmail.com and we'll give you details. The next shipment due to leave very soon is full, and there's another one that should arrive before the New Year that's filling fast.....

Stepanek

Very early days on this, but we are extremely happy and proud to be able to say that we'll be carrying boards from Griffin Stepanek. This feels like the most exciting time in surfboard design for decades, there's so much experimentation going on, old designs that got passed over in the waves of progression that happened around times like the shortboard boom and the creation of the thruster set up are being revisited and reevaluated. Young shapers are looking at the roots of their performance shortboards and playing with the concepts. It's fun stuff going on out there, and the likes of Griffin Stepanek are making it happen. Griffin's a young guy and was part of the Yard Possum crew that terrorized the surfing establishment of La Jolla a few years back. They tore Windansea up on the weird little Simmons creations of Hydrodynamica, they surfed blocks of foam and back yard monsters and have gone on to be a seriously solid and talented bunch of guys. Griffin has been quietly shaping and honing his skills in Northern California and as you can see, he's done a good job of it. Boards are in the works and we'll keep you updated.....