At the end of last year, I had the privilege to do an interview for the second time with the guys over at Surf Bunker. In case you haven't heard of Surf Bunker before now, it is a curated online magazine of, you guessed it surf related stories from local surfers to new and inspiring businesses within our industry.
As they put it in their about section they are a group of real life everyday surfers from all corners of the globe from Portugal to Australia, South Africa and back. They have all traveled to surf and all live by their local breaks. Surf bunker's core vision is a simple one; they want to connect surfers who want boards to surfers who have boards - on a global level.
The global reach the team has brings a very unique and local perspective to the stories that effect everyday surfers in their own areas... Â it is a pretty cool idea.Â
What is the most important part of riding a wave? The answer is the stoke. The stoke is an actual tangible thing that great days are made of, it can be used to build great moods, provide huge distractions and to inspire complete changes in lifestyle.
It stands to reason that the first wave that was ever surfed anywhere was body surfed, therefore the first stoke that was produced anywhere was from body surfing. It is to body surfing and more precisely handboarding that I would like to steer your attention to at this time.
This summer I interviewed a man who makes the best handboards in the world, this is a fact and not one that I can hear being disputed. Having purchased a Slyde handboard for my wife for her birthday (I know : lucky her) I proceed to test it in varying conditions and immediately found that my previous article was insufficient to say the least.