La Vie Nouvelle… This month’s newsletter is all about the contemporary; new boards, fresh artwork ideas and newly initiated world title challenger and CM teamrider, Mitch Surman. So read on and get with the times… ___________________ This Issue: New Recruits – Classic Malibu has a couple of new inductees – meet the latest additions to our quiver. Calling a Spray a Spray – If you’re in the market for a new board, don’t settle for a generic, monotone board with less personality as John Howard. Be individual – get an original work of art. Home Brewer - We’ve postponed our profile on team rider, Mitch Surman, to bring you a special guest shaper profile on a living legend, Dick Brewer – with us to shape some very special boards during the Noosa Festival. Dick in his former days of glory (photo: Surf Research)	Newsletter :: March ’10 :: ___________________ Innovations We never rest. We never stop. We wake in cold sweats in the middle of the night, reach for our bedside jotter and hastily scrawl our latest idea to further your surfing experiences. Our factory is an organic entity unto itself, continually evolving, spawning new creations and furthering its quiver to suit the myriad surfers and conditions that present themselves.
	The Special Blend: The division between performance and traditional has, up until recently, been almost as distinct as long-or-short. But the past couple of years, through surfers’ tastes, necessity and exploration, has seen the great divide turning hazy at best. Filling the void, we have developed the Special Blend. Officially in the traditional camp, our new arrival has a traditional template, a lower rocker, side fins and more foam, a pulled-in tail and side fins allow for heightened manoeuvrability not usually found in a more old school board. Versatility, accessibility and above all fun, the Special Blend brings aspects of performance across the border into the realms of the traditional to create a board that gives trim and stability on the nose without a rear end like a Biggest Loser entrant.
		MicroChip: Not everyone as such an adept surfer as to ride the communion wafers we see the big names on the World Tour ripping it up on. And even if we were, when do we really get the conditions to best utilise such boards? The MicroChip is all about fun, fun, fun. Wider than the average shortboard of its size, it takes just a drop of influence from the fish design. But don’t be fooled – this is no retro soul-trip. Double flyers and a thruster setup give the MicroChip performance by the gallon, enhanced by the fact that the extra width allows you to ride it four to six inches shorter than its more conventional counterpart. Typically, we install plugs enough for five fins, giving you the option of riding thruster or quad, depending on preference and wave choice. This is a shortboard to maximise your wave-count and keep you in the water longer.
Getting Creative: Some people like plain boards, fair enough. Then again, some people think The Biggest Loser is ‘good viewing’…each to their own. But we say if you’re going to pay out for a new board, own it, make it yours, make a statement. We’ve talked about resin tints before, for that classic, old-school look, but sprays can be stencilled and we can even inlay images, logos and photos to your board. Here are a few ideas. - The Basic Spray If you’re wanting a simple design with only a handful of colours, sprays are the cost effective way to go. Bold, dynamic, and some very effective, quick and easy designs can be achieved. - Pinlines Pinlines add an additional dimension to a board, as well as helping to cover up any unsightly glass laps or colour divisions. A plain white board can look a bit too viriginal, but with a nice, crisp pinline, even a few in a simple design, can add a whole new dimension without making it lurid. - Fades There’s something very appropriate about a simple two-tone fade on a surfboard. You can go as monochrome or technicolour as you like with fades; a single colour to white, two-tone, say, red to yellow, or even a full rainbow. Whatever you choose, it will always look good when done well. - Stencilling Motifs and logos can be achieved very effectively with the use of a stencil. The area is marked off and sprayed over, giving neat edges to all manner of more simple designs. And it’s worth baring in mind that a board baring your company logo is a tax-deductable marketing tool! - Airbrushing Back in the 70’s Terry Fitzgerald’s Hot Buttered boards got themselves noticed by the phenomenal artwork of Martin Worthington. Martin’s airbrushed masterpieces of psychedelic landscapes and oceans proffering perfect barrels were as much part of the brand as the boards themselves. These are still achievable today, a few underground artists, such as Shane Martin (www.shanemartin.com.au), creating exquisite works on commission. Expect to pay a bit for them, but they’ll be worth every cent. - Decals Decals are an easy way to get your choice of art on a board. Specialist printers can reproduce a decent quality image onto rice paper, which your local glasser will be able to inlay into your new board. Anything from a small logo to a full-length portrait of your beloved is possible. So the next time you’re thinking about a new board, show your creative side, go the full distance and take some time to get your board personalised. Next Month: We’re going outside with a look at beaches, their setups, their problems and the dangers they pose… Classic Malibu Cnr Gibson & Eumundi Rd Noosaville QLD 4566 Ph: (07) 5474 3122 www.classicmalibu.com.au Email: info@classicmalibu.com	Dick Brewer - CM’s Part-Timer - Dick Brewer is little short of a living legend. His name graces the tomes of surfing annals alongside the likes of Hobie Alter, Dale Velzy and Bing Copeland, bringing with it the deserved respect of a lifetime’s experience creating surfing masterpieces. Dick at home with his gun rack Beginning his surfing life in California, Brewer followed the steady, underground stream of youths to Hawaii, a trip that would be pivotal to his life’s path. The return to California saw his growing interest in surfboard design and creation and, with Hawaii’s salty brine still coursing through his veins, he returned to the Islands, generating for himself a reputation as possibly the foremost shaper of big wave ‘guns’, elongated, streamlined craft, shaped specifically for Hawaii’s monstrous waves. Surfboards Hawaii, Brewer’s independent label, generated the mark of distinction, equipment that could be trusted to both perform and survive in such testing conditions. But finance forced Brewer back to the mainland to work for Hobie Alter, a period during which he established the celebrated Hobie/Dick Brewer Gun model for which he now is so renowned. But he pined for the islands. Brewer’s adroitness as a surfer, fortified his reputation and when, in 1965, he returnd to Hawaii, to work under Bing Copeland’s label, his list of team riders included some of the finest names in the sport at that time. Reno Abellira, David Nuuhiwa and Jeff Hakman were among those to bolster their repute as surfers on Brewer shapes. The ‘70s saw Brewer regain his independence, shaping under his own label, and working with the King of Pipeline, Gerry Lopez, through this greatly transitional period. As time and the sport’s evolution took its toll on Brewer, he receded from the limelight, shaping as necessity required, and living a full life with his wife, Sherry. The prodigious craftsman is bound for Noosa, drawn, as many celebrities are, by the annual Noosa Festival Of Surfing. Not only will he be socializing and proffering his fountain of wisdom to enquiring minds, but he will also be shaping a very exclusive, very limited number of boards. Working from the shaping bay of Peter White’s Classic Malibu factory, Brewer will be whittling away on a precious few boards of different designs, some the guns for which he has become so recognized, as well as several of the Pipeliner model; more of a conventional longboard template that he developed during his tenure with Bing Surfboards. If you are interested in purchasing one of these highly exclusive, immensely sought after surfboards, this is an exceptional opportunity, for not only will you be able to own your very own Dick Brewer model but you will also be able to meet the creator himself. Dick Brewer will be working at the Classic Malibu factory, on the corner of Gibson and Eumundi Roads, during the period of the Noosa Festival (14-21 March). Meetings with Brewer will be strictly by appointment and board numbers are extremely limited. Please contact Classic Malibu at info@classicmalibu.com or by phone on: (07) 5474 3122 should you wish to enquire about this fantastic opportunity. Next Month: Back On The Program: Okay, next month we really will have a profile on Mitch Surman. Now signed up to Oxbow’s team, wildcarded on three of the world title stages and going from strength to strength, we’d better get in there before he becomes an international superstar! (Sorry for flagging you Mitch!)