In this episode I catch up with Gary McNeill from Gary McNeill Concepts.

I first met Gary when I was working on the Gold Coast nearly 20 years ago. From the very first meeting I found him to be friendly, dedicated, talented and a real individual pursuing his own path.

Gary grew up surfing competitively, but a few changes in life would motivate him to move from Wollongong to the Gold Coast. He started working for Nev surfboards. Soon after starting work, he was promoted to production manager at a time when Nev was one of the biggest surfboard brands in Australia.

In the years that followed, Gary would be poached by DHD and JS before deciding to focus on his own surfboard brand. After a couple of decades surrounded by high performance surfboards, Gary wanted something different. His first step was joining the Formula Energy surfboard family until he decided he wanted 100% control of his surfboards.

It took two years of research and development with the highly talented Dave Rastovich to establish his surfboard range. It was during this time that Gary and Dave explored the Taurus channel, a design so good that Gary cannot believe more people are not doing them. Gary continues to design without constraints and is always producing something new like the 'Frankenfish'.

Gary provides a bit of information from behind the scenes of STAB's - Electric Acid Surfboard Test, his journey with flax cloth as well as a few tips and tricks on how to use it best.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Gary McNeill.

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In this episode we catch up with Damien Cole, former CEO of Varuna surfboards.

The surfboard industry is a fickle beast; it owes nobody anything and we are regularly reminded of this. Earlier this year Varuna surfboards closed its doors for the last time. Varuna surfboards was a new type of wooden construction with a focus on reducing the environmental impact as well as improving the lives of Indonesians who had experienced large scale deforestation.

It was great to catch up with 'Damo' and discuss his colorful journey over the last several years. You see, Damo was not your typical CEO that exists in a world of buzz words and networking soirees. Damo is grass roots.

After embarking on a career in the mines, he pivoted into environmental science, which subsequently led to him putting his hand up as an independent candidate in the local state election. If that was not taxing enough, he agreed to become an organiser in the 'Fight for the Bight' campaign - a movement against oil drilling exploration in the southern waters of Australia.

Damo experienced two severe brain injuries over the last few years. He talks about going through some tough times and dark moments in his recovery. His resilience is only matched by his intelligence, and I have nothing but respect for what he has achieved. Unfortunately, the timing of his last head injury could not have come at a worst time and the realisation of how big a task Varuna was, had become clear... it was time to call it a day.

I really hope you enjoy our chat.

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In this episode I chat with Sergio Gomez from Gomez surfboards.

Sergio grew up on the coast of Argentina. The town was rather large, but surfing was considered counterculture and there were only two surf shops. Sergio fell in love with surfing and on one occasion when his board was being repaired, he borrowed his friend's brother's board.

The board went amazing! It was like no other board he had ever ridden, and he took up the challenge to find out why? Sergio learnt how to shape, glass and sand surfboards and as a young adult began to travel. He searched for the waves he had seen in the magazines and happily discovered it coincided with local surfboard industries.

Many years have passed, and many surfing destinations have been crossed off his list. Sergio is currently residing on the west coast of Victoria and shapes all types of surfboards. During our conversation Sergio talked about various construction types he has explored and his interest in the pursuit of more sustainable materials.

Speaking with Sergio, it's clear he is a very creative person and the decision to create a book about surfboard design is less surprising. The result is over 300 pages of a rich photographic gallery with surfboard design presented in an easy way to understand.

The book is called ' Shape Shifter' and I would encourage you to grab a copy, you will not be disappointed.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Sergio Gomez.

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Support the show

Check out the stories on our Instagram home page for photos to accompany each episode.

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We hope you enjoyed our conversation. Be sure to rate and review our podcast as well as subscribe.