Funny Story

Industry Talk
1

Surfblanks Australia used to supply Chilli with very light blanks glued with green glue.

These blanks were known as Surfblanks Green foam, and there was a minimum order of ten (per size).

Surfblanks also made one grade of foam heavier known as Blue and one grade lighter (than Green) known as Yellow.

Time and again Chilli would ask for a variation on the Greens.

Could he have them cut only with no stringers?

Could he have them with no green in the glue?

Surfblanks Australia had real concerns that the Greens might be passed off as Eskimo Foam when reports started flowing back that Chilli had amazing new foam.

The reports were hard to verify since Chilli sprayed white over the blanks making the green glue barely visible.

To avoid further confusion Surfblanks told Chilli to use his own foam for his team riders.

Time went by and Chilli sold Eskimo Foam to FCS who took it to China and then started offering finished boards to American labels made with the famous Eskimo Foam.

FCS offered three densities of Eskimo Foam in their boards - guess what colours they were?

Recently a regular customer of Surfblanks Australia bought ten Green Foam blanks, specially made from the Brookvale factory, with his name on them. This customer took his blanks to the APS machine shop at Mona Vale.

I happened to be in the APS 3000 machine shop at Mona Vale several weeks ago, looking at software for a longboard design of mine. I noticed the same ten Green Foam Surfblanks standing in a rack waiting for cutting.

While I was watching, Chilli’s delivery guy came in and took the same ten Green Foam Surfblanks. Chilli has a Luciano machine.

I wonder if Andy Irons now has some new boards made with that same amazing new foam?

2

“oh what a tangled web [‘chilli’] weaves …” etc

yes that IS a funny story ,

good on you midget for seeing the funny side of it .

A lesser man [or an ‘o/s’ shaper , perhaps ?]

probably would have been wanting to run to court screaming ?

…australia rules , indeed !

cheers

ben

3

How’s it going Midget,

What a very interesting story and tangled web the surf industry has become. !!!

As a newcomer to the industry, I am amazed the stories that I here and the going’s on behing the scences in the board building industry.

I’ve not long left the corporate world having spent the best years of my life in senior positions of two of Australia’s leading brand names. Furniture and home appliances. You Guess.

You could say i’m in my mid life crisis. Having a great time though.

My obvservations are this. The big companies now in the surfing world are heading down the same path as other corporate entities. Bottom line driven , Shareholder dividnend, more more more , acquire , and get bigger.

I have personally seen very large business’s ruined, due to the greed and pressure to perform for the almighty dollar.

If these guys keep going, Playing silly games , they will end in the same manner.

For me, Its about the surfing , always has been. Now my son and his surfing, and his son and so on.

Mate thanks for your time in reading this and it has been my pleasure to talking to such a surfing legend.

All the best to you and your family.

Paul

Samurai surfboards.

4

Daaaaang . . . crazy crazy daaaamn . . . .

The problem is when you corporatize things out . . . and forget about the customer and catering to the customer is what makes things great. You get replaced by another . . .

The real question is . . . if presented in Midget’s position what would you do?

It’s cool that Midget knows his position, the quality of their foam, and to laugh about this sneaky position because business will be theirs since they trust in the quality of their foam.

5

Hay Midget, just cos’ you’re reading along…I shaped one of your 10’4"'s a couple weeks ago. Came out great - crisp, very white, very uniform in density. My friend Mystic John got it from Matt Ambrose for me. I used a grit-barrell because John said they were crisp…and he was right, but the grit worked like a dream. I’d compare the foam to a good Walker, and yours is closer-tolerance. That Walker 10’8" is bigger (and especially thicker) than it needs to be!

So it came out good…

And I also have something that’s due for an eventual resto…something you might recognize :slight_smile:

Its a 7’11" G&S Farrelly stringerless V-bottom with multiple abuses (including missing nose foam & missing fin) but I’ll get to it one of these days :slight_smile:

6

if you can find a serial number or date on that board, you could eventually rewrite surfboard design history.

7

followed this story on the surfer mag forum and have to agree with some posters there that your blanks are in a league of their own. so what can poor Chilli do as he needs to satisfy the demands of professional surfers?

good that you uncovered the plot and informed the surfing community. If I would be you I’d sit back and enjoy the complement made to you by Chilli.

his blanks will be tested in the marketplace and as long as you provide us with your product for a reasonable price, you will be able to enjoy success and surfers will be able to enjoy the advances of your product. its all good, karma rules.