A one-board weapon even for pro's, says shaper to the stars…
Two weeks ago, the BeachGrit principal Charlie Smith wrote of the virtues of an asymmetrical surfboard he’d been given from Album Surf in San Clemente.
Let me remind the reader of the breeze Chas blew across its bow.
“It was almost too much fun.”
“I am getting another asymmetrical to try out because it feels like the key to me getting on the WQS as a 40-year-old man. The feel-good story of the decade!”
“Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m a dirty dirty bad boy.”
Are asymmetrical boards, which have been around for thirty years, as good as Chas says or are they an embarrassing crutch for kooks who have little need for direction changes?
Who must we turn to for sensible surfboard advice?
Oh you know it has to be Matt Biolos, shaper for three decades, to world champs etc.
We begin.
BeachGrit: When did you first become aware of ‘em?
Biolos: Honestly, I’m not sure. One of the best snowboards I ever owned was a NITRO “Pyro” asymmetric. This would have been Winter ‘92/93. It was an early “twin tip” with different side cut and effective edge on heel and toe. If you were goofy, you would set up the bindings one direction and if you were regular you’d do the opposite. The good thing for the business side was either a goofy or regular footer could buy the same board. No double inventory. I made a few asym surfboard tails for myself that next summer, 1993, because of the great experience I had on that snowboard. It really made your heel turns and heel-to-toe transitions easier. It was the first time I felt I could do a good snow carve on my heels.
BeachGrit: How did those first surfboards go?
Biolos: I don’t remember anything standing out and lost interest in it quickly.
BeachGrit: I remember great New Zealand shaper Allan Byrne loosing ‘em, oowee, would’ve been in the nineties sometime.
Biolos: Rest his soul. I don’t know much about those boards but I’m friends with Carl Ekstrom. Obviously he’s pretty much The Godfather of Asym. He’s a brilliant guy. Engineer type of mind and approach. Very good aesthetic to everything he designs. A few years ago I ordered one from him. It’s beautiful. Goes really fast. Had one really good surf on it one winter, a northwest swell at Uppers. Where you’re taking off way, way up near “Barbwires” and racing the wall, full horizontal speed, one hundred yards behind the normal take-off. But, overall, I struggled with the board and it didn’t really fit my surfing, although I cherish it.
BeachGrit: I get the theory. But are they really, as one commenter put it so eloquently, for people who like to go straight?
Biolos: Most of the ones you see these days are more about art or “Shock and Awe”. So it’s easy to say that and be cynical. But I believe that statement is too broad and sarcastic. It’s just that no one is really working on them in the competitive zone. The best surfing I’ve seen on them is Ryan Burch, by a mile, so you know it can be done. Someone like him could push them to more acceptance. They can actually be made far more subtle and I think make turning a bit more easy. The thing is that fringe, artsy shapers have pushed them too extreme.
Most of the ones you see these days are more about art or “Shock and Awe”. So it’s easy to say that and be cynical. But I believe that statement is too broad and sarcastic. It’s just that no one is really working on them in the competitive zone.
BeachGrit: Tell me about your recent shaping experience with ‘em.
Biolos: My best experience was one I made myself in 2000. I took it on an early trip the Ments. It was a diamond tail on my toe edge and a round tail on my heel. It had more rail rocker spiraling off the toe edge. I surfed it at speeding, hollow, head-high Rags Rights and similar, playful Macaronis. At Rags I felt the longer rail line of the toe edge gave me lots of projection in the fast walls and tubes but the round heel let me do quick snaps and stalls under the lip. It was more forgiving than if it was a squash on my heel. At Maccas, and other backside bowly waves, I always struggle on sharp backside bottom turns. Especially on a squash tail. I always feel like I need a rounded pin to do a firm backside bottom turn in bowly reef waves. Thus the round tail. But by having the wider outline on the toe side it made backside snaps off the top more loose and playful. Solid off the bottom, loose and almost drifty off the top. Great board and great memories. I still have the board.
At one combo ASR/Sacred Craft show in SanDiego I had a bunch of asyms in our booth. It was actually the year I won the Tribute to Masters/Simon Anderson shape-off. We were launching Hydro-Flex construction with Bufo. The only ones that seemed interested at the time were Gorkin and Tom Carroll. TC was tripping on one of them (There is a photo with him floating around the internet) but beside Gorkin ripping on a couple, we got no traction with them.
I had another one, a more grovel-style board, which was actually a prelude to the Puddle Jumper back in October 2013. It was 5’10” x 21” x 2.75” with a round tail on the heel side and Rocket tail on the toe. Same theory as the old board. Faster with drive, and skate, on the toe, with a forgiving, precise heel turn. I remember Tyler Wright had flown to California to begin our working relationship. I had just made this little board and we surfed really soft , late-season windswell at Lowers for a couple days. The little board just flew, and skated, but still felt precise. You could really lay into the heel turns. I think asyms are good way to negate the corkiness of high volume, wide-tailed boards. I ended up making a few of that particular design for some of my buddies here in southern California and over in Florida. Still have that board as well.
If we took the time to dial some in for a top surfer, and they had success on them, which I firmly believe is possible, there would be dramatically increased demand.
BeachGrit: I defer to shapers like you (and Pyzel too, occasionally) because what counts but experience and expertise, right? So let me ask. Why isn’t there an asymmetrical in the Lost range? Wouldn’t it be a seller if pushed by Brother, Yago, Carissa and co?
Biolos: The biggest hurdle for the success of asyms is getting retail shops to stock them and manufacturers like me to make ’em. Asyms are a regular or a goofyfoot board. Stores don’t want to have to double the amount of boards to cover a size range. I think it’s financially daunting. Like glass-on fins are now. No one has the room to stock them although I think they could sell.
Another thing is the extreme art board guys have embraced it more so I think it could be turning off the “performance” guys. Most of the guys working on them now don’t even sell to shops. I do agree though, if we took the time to dial some in for a top surfer, and they had success on them, which I firmly believe is possible, there would be dramatically increased demand. I should try to do it. But like most people I get too caught up in my everyday stuff.
BeachGrit: In theory, could a customer walk into one of your Get a Board Shaped by Mayhem appearances and request an asymmetrical?
Biolos: Absolutely. I do them on request. We actually made a regular, goofy sample pair of Puddle Jumper spin-offs a year ago. I cut them, shaped them and threatened to put them in our 2017 line up. Then I got scared or distracted. Those two boards are both still around. We can make nice functional, realistically proportioned asyms that work. Not quite the “Shock and Awe” monstrosities you see hype fed on Instagram but more for function than fad. Kolohe could have done well on one in France this week. He rode two nearly identical boards on finals day. A squash in the am, then the same exact board, as a round tail, in his second two heats. As the swell grew I think the one with a squash on the toes and round on the heel could have been a one-board weapon.
I wish I could interview Biolos and get to the bottom of it! But I’m glad you pointed out that he’s probably not being negative, just using it as a comparison to what he does, ie, make F1 race cars opposed to modern classics. This interpretation will let me sleep better.
I only know of one person who probably fits your idea (and maybe Biolos’ too) of “artsy.” He is some dude from “somewhere else”; he has a beard, very high surf shorts so everyone can see his thigh tattoos; he shaped himself a log, with a blue resin tint. He’s a kook but he’s not selling boards or posting on Instagram and whatnot. I guess I’m just confused as to who Biolos and you are referring to. My confusion is probably due to the fact that I don’t live in Southern California, where I assume most of these “artsy” guys are. Where I live, we have surfers, surfer/shapers, rippers, pros, tourists, and, kooks (many of the people in the first five categories often also fit in the last category). I get it now but I’m still curious as to who Biolos is referring to, haha, maybe it’s just the idea that bugs him.
Seems like we have different understandings/definitions of “artsy.” When I think of “artsy,” I think of cutting edge, experimental, brilliant, DYI, Da Vinci, Bob Simmons, Hobie type people. Greenough was definitely an artsy dude: he was making and ripping on 5 foot knee boards when everyone else was riding logs. Bob McTavish was another artsy dude, who helped to propel the shortboard revolution; he’s still making beautiful pieces of art (surfboards). Aesthetics (art) are inseparable from functional surfboards. Please give me a concrete example of these “artsy” people you refer too? I hope you’re not talking about people like Travis Reynolds, Eden Saul, Carl Olson, or Ryan Lovelace (I mention them because they all use beautiful resin tints on their surfboards that aren’t “V3 Rockets” or “puddle jumpers”).
Ah shit… I’d love to buy one for a laugh , but I can’t afford any boards, full stop.
What does anyone have to lose by trying one out a few times? “Dignity in the line up”? Please… get over yourself.
You guys are working real hard to make basic physics into rocket science. It’s pretty simple: you apply pressure to the rail differently with your toes than you do with your heel. So if your board is symmetrical, your application of the rail to the wave inherently won’t be.
Someone slagged on Brink’s (admittedly) ugly and way-the-fuck-out-there crafts, which I can agree with, but the man knows his shit. His explanation to a pretty large group of us would-be shapers was basic: take a board that you like, shorten the heel line slightly, explode the radius of the heel rail slightly. Slightly.
You’re still not gonna surf like John John. Hell, you probably still won’t surf as good as Jadson.
dude the fucking wave itself is asymmetrical. There’s asymmetries everywhere in surfing. Don’t confuse yourself to no purpose I say.
The wave’s pretty symmetrical in Lemoore, huh?
All kidding aside, BeachGrit is acting like ‘discovering’ that an asymmetrical board is fun is like opening the damn Ark of the Covenant. My point is: “no shit.” As far as overcomplicating surfboards, I think that ship has sailed now that Joe Dickhead down the street is ordering boards by the 1/16″ of an inch/half liter difference in volume/carbon wrap/team light glassing. If we’re gonna talk about board design details that make a difference, subtle asymms are just as viable as any of the rest of that marketing crap.
How subtle? You know that “cutback” board of Tom Curren’s, the 7’8″ he rode in 1991 at Haleiwa and Backdoor? That board was unintentionally asymmetric: a fraction wider in the nose on the frontside rail, a fraction wider in the tail on the backside rail. Like a tiny bit. Less than a quarter inch. You can’t see it. My lil bro’s Pipe board, the one he did the Snap on, was not asymmetric in the slightest. Working with Maurice, we discovered that if you shift the backside fin back 1/8″ from the frontside fin, you increase the board’s feel and performance by maybe 10%. The tolerances are tiny. “Big” asymmetry is a conjuring trick, it corrects technical deficiencies in a surfer’s style, but it doesn’t last — once the surfer grows used to the asymmetry, the same technical deficiencies return. Tiny asymmetry can make a big difference, but only on that particular board. If you want to surf better, forget asymmetrics and focus on what you’re actually doing.
I see…like those Glen Winton paddling gloves, only good until you get used to them.
I have a box of those gloves. All the colours!
Well that’s you sorted for halloween.
shhhiiiittt learning to surf better sounds so hard though! 🙁
fuck what happens when you move them an inch?
you fall off!
ha but did you learn anything?
Yes! Just move them a little bit.
We all surf asymmetric , as there are rights and lefts , backside we surf further back and frontside further forward. I always use asymmetric fin setups with slight asymmetric rocker lines , because it is logical !
Seems like a lot of shapers are just looking for the next fashion to enhance their sales!!
once you start riding directly down each wave in a parallel stance the fact that you’re right or left handed will mean your body has added musculature and weight on one side of the body. in order to counterbalance this, you must turn your head slightly to the right or left with whichever is your larger ear facing forward, the additional wind resistance from that ear will counteract the added musculature and you’ll be able to go absolutely dead straight like its 1958 at Makaha still.
someone once asked the question ” who in surfing do you most want to punch?” look at that photo and tell me its not chaz
I ride Deus Machina authentic assymetrics from the Canggu store. It’s too good, especially at Cloudy.
I do like Chas’ assymetric pants.
but where the fuck is his keel , those fins look very too much nearly probably normal!!!
Matt makes great boards and he’s an adult with a successful brand… why trash talk these young guys making art boards. It’s unbecoming.
I agree. Matt makes board for pro surfers and, wanna-bees and a few rippers here and there. Why trash talk these mysterious “artsy” shapers? It’s the “artsy” shapers that created modern surfing; concaves, down rails, short boards, etc; all the innovations in surfboard design cane through “art.” I wish he’d just speak plainly and say who and what he’s really talking about. Very childish/weak in my opinion.
The “art” shapers — or people I’d guess would fit what is meant by this — I’ve talked to seem like they’re having fun. I guess I have a hard time hatin’ on people who are having fun making surfboards.
Who are these mystical “art” shapers? It’s an oxymoron in my eyes, i.e., art and shaping are inseparable, i.e., a well designed/made surfboard is a functional piece of art: innately pleasing.
Because he’s insecure about all the cool brands and talented shapers coming up.. look at his brand.. it’s trash
Lost paid us to say this, but it’s true!
Jokes aside, this was actually pretty informative
“As a business proposition they’re a loser” is Bob Cooper’s blunt assessment of the commerical viability of asymmetrics. “They do not have shelf appeal and you get bored answering dumb questions.”
Cooper has spent 55 years answering ‘dumb questions’ about asymmetrics; the first board he brought to Australia back in 1959 was asymmetric – it had an offset nose – and he’s been dabbling with them ever since.
Asymm info, spam etc here: https://www.swellnet.com/ne…
Desperate for traffic Stu?
Complementary information, Nik.
A good read Stu, far more coherent and grounded in fact than the bullshit Biolos peddles…
I think I’ve got one coming down the turnpike my way.
I’m on my fifth, each with small tweaks, and I can fully relate to Chas’ excitement.
Give me a call if you wanna bounce it.
I’ve been shaping asymetrical for 20 years for a simple reason, I’m not capable to shape a symetrical board…
fuck that’s been my excuse for 30 years!
Sweet now you only surf like shit going one way.
Yeah biolos can’t surf. I really don’t care what he felt, because he has never done a real turn on a good wave none the less a shitty one. “YOUR OUT OF YOUR ELEMENT DONNY!”
I’m pretty sick of hearing what Biolos thinks about anything actually. “Honestly, I’m not sure”, “I don’t remember anything”, “I don’t know much about those boards”, “Kolohe could have done well on one in France this week”. The guy talks and talks and talks and says nothing. What a gift!
Have you ever seen biolos on rail? I’m asking a serious question this is the guy who bashes “twin fin fad makers” but preaches about Burch. Ok yeah i have had some failures in my life but one of which is not being able to surf my own shapes to their potential. Besides Burch who is actively surfing,something handmade that was spun out of their mind and can put that into words. A bunch of guys but you’ll never hear about us as long as biolos and the illuminati are fucking over every little guy keeping them in the sheds and from progression.
i have never had the pleasure.
Biolos shreds, as it happens. Real good on a snowboard too.
Snowboarding is the rollerblading of Surfing you’re strapped in all you have to do is jump and you get air and you just stay over the board and your f****** good don’t try and compare surfing to snowboarding ability because it has nothing to do with each other I’m not going to go off on a rant but it just so happens that my new phone has a microphone which sucks for my cursing but at the same time makes me able to speak my mind more fluently in other words produce footage of biolos linking two turns together fluently and I’m talking not in the ments because anyone with two ankles can surf those waves perfect.
Out of curiosity, are you a surfboard artisan wounded by Biolos’ earlier pieces?
Possibly or maybe I’m just woke. The world may never know.
Are you woke and cute like this? https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Yes black don’t crack,unless that shit is a carbon wrap baby!
Oowee, we got ourselves a feisty one!
I’m sorry I’ve got wood twin fins to grind.
Keels?
I thought this was America?
Thats very kind of you.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Shreds compared to you and Chas or people who can surf exceptionally well? 😉
I’m going with A here.
Holy shit he deleted the photos.
I was trying to add a third photo but it kept appearing as code. I’m so novice. Google Matt Biolos surfing to repeat.
different topic any news on webber’s pool construction?
Think it got caught up in a new fantastic , unbelievable shark net!