i dont like mcdonalds or coke either
i think my glassing methods are safer then those 2 foodgroups
i can give you one fact
if it was that small it would be a clitorus
and theyd have to lick it
Ditto dude, OTAY that wasn’t necessary… Surfing is about having a good time, period. Some people can do it on a surftech, others want a custom board. Live and let live dude.
What wasn’t necessary? Filling in solosurf about his untruths or others with silly opinions not relevent to my arguement? If surfing is about having fun what up with the living room glassing commando’s comments? I have heard of back yard shapers but never sitting room sanders. OSHA employee of the month called pussy and something about a wide one. Oh, I see your point now. I am sorry for not understanding your real meaning???
LAy off the booze fella’s and argue the facts.
Is that cricket sounds I hear???
yeah dude
chill out 
but seriously
i just made a compsand in 8 1/2 hours
(in my spare room on sum old carpet i got from the dump)
its recycled out of the first compsand i made
i peeled of the skins of a mal and attached them to a shortboard blank
its got multi density core
parabolic snails
epochsie resin
etc etc etc
and it lighter/flexier than any surftech of that size that ive ever seen
i think my hamburgers taste better then mcfcknuckles as well 
bring on the cottage industry
its simple man
surfing was just more pleasureable when there was a mystery!
and locals were scary
and shapers were barefoot
and waves were uncrowded
and there was no such thing as travelling surfer
and boardshorts were for surfing in
now its a glitsy retailer peddling there wares to anybody stupid enough to fall for the fad
and the lineups have turned to shite with bad attitude and bollocks
our spiritual and life giving passion has been turned into a FAD
our holy temple is being trampled by heathen
thats just my OPINION
no
your right Otay
it was a bit childish
wetsuits and towels are for pussies as well
A manlier name would be a mantoris.
I like surftech because I can roast them, and it’s fun to roast all the ‘Big Names’ . . . . couldn’t wipe the smiles of ‘Robert August’ surfboard owners faces before, I was restricted to local brands . . . . and the best part is how smug they look BEFORE and how deflated they look AFTER. . . . like I’m not an entirely nice person ( being nice to everyone is just too cheesey and doesn’t keep the hunting instincts sharpened). . .
. . . and I do like to be at the top of the feeding pyramid, so it pleases me to toast those surftechs. . . they are the epitome of ‘Mutton dressed as lamb’ . . . . or chilli bins dressed as surfboards, I really dig them they make life so easy . . . . and all the local shapers are bummed about them too, which they thoroughly deserve, so life is all as it should be, no complaints, keep pumping those surftechs out !
Chiz Chiz
Somebody’s been at the mead again!
Ho ho ho
the mantoris wtf
i guess it would be easy to find
and stimulated with wet and dry
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and all the local shapers are bummed about them too, which they thoroughly deserve, so life is all as it should be, no complaints, keep pumping those surftechs out !
pmsl:)
hey Otay
im seriously suspicious of you motives
you dont happen to own a surf shop by any chance?
not even going to try to get into this moral or immoral surfboard industry debate,just from a pure surfboard perspective go try a tl2 randy french sqash tail the closet to your current board size you might be very surprised give it a fair shot just from a design perspective. aloha…
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“There are some social moral issues that need to be addressed and at least considered for personal integrity or thought only. Issues such as dealing with countries that produce no resources other than labor and the labor produced is because of the poverty in those countries or the governments of those countries lack of concern for their workers. However…it’s legal and if the market is going to dictate how you make a living then the choice is this: Go out of business or get with the program. Sharp business people have a knack for predicting the future and preparing for it. Could Randy French be one of those? Look at the fear that existed for the first couple of weeks after Clark Foam closed it’s doors. If your at the mercy of one supplier or Technology then your asking for it when it hits you in the face. If you’re a shop owner and you put yourself at the mercy of any particular board builder or name brands…your asking for it when they can’t produce or go out of popularity. Surf Tech has to some degree solved this problem for the store owners and allowed many retailers to make better margins on the product”
Wow, if you call being totally ignorant of the economic facts of Thailand a compliment to Surftech then you are right on track. I would like to prove to you that you…US surf shop owners are the exploiters of labor.
first off Thailand has an unemployment rate of 2% compared to the US of 4.5%. The living below poverty level in Tahiland is 10% and 12% in the U.S.
Most jobs in Thailand are agricultural and only 14 % are manufacturing whicn surftech would be included in. The rest of the jobs are in the service industry.
The low paying job at the cobra factory would be the equivilant of $16 us dollars per hour in our economy. The more skilled jobs would be more of course.
How much do you pay your check out clerk at your shop??? What is your sander getting per board??? The cobra factory is one of the cleanest and safest surfboard factories in the world. You can’t make a near perfect product every time in a hell hole surf shop. The carbon fiber products coming out of cobra are boieng aircraft quality.
So I call bull sheeeet on your misleading premise.
Fact—thailand poverty level is below the united states
Fact–Minimum wage at the cobra factory is twice the us equivilant minimum wage
Fact–Lack of concern for the workers is your buddy using PE resin and the wrong wind direction running you out of your shop cuz of the fumes.(your words dude). The cobra factory is a perfect example how an efficient/safe shop should operate.
Please quit with the misleading urban ledgends of the not so successful, I need an excuse U.S. board builder.
Blakestah’s comments are very uncomplimentary, of silly logic and your acknowledement of them show your hate for Randy French.
I bet if he used 80,000 surf truck fin system sets per year the tune would change.
When you really want to compliment surftech please post again. This was far from being of praise or complimanetary to Surftech.
I salute Randy French once again for be the quiet introvert who has a lot on his mind after surfing. After all the enjoyment he has brought to the surfers of the world and the burden to better the the already excellent product is quite a loard to carry. Also all the economic prosperity he brings to Thailand and all the shapers in his stable and to the surf shop owners who carry the product is amazing. How he stays so humble about this success is remarkable. I think we all could learn a lot about surfboards, life and how to handle success from Mr French.
Otay,
I removed the asian theme from the post…it did cloud and otherwise positive message on Surf Tech. The positive part was my intention and putting that in there could have been percieved as sneaking in a dig which was not my intention on this post. I would rather post another thread to debate you on the Asian outsourcing theme.
However,
I have tried to avoid any reference to Randy French as a person…none of us know R.F.'s heart on anything. The fact that you use the word “hate” with reference to anything I have said about Surf Tech and then apply that to my personal feelings towards Randy French shows right where your heart is. I can’t think of a single person I “hate” and it certainly would not be someone like R.F. who I only know through some business dealings and who has zero effect on my life. (I also adjusted my responses on this as well…we can now stick to the orginal post)
You seem to be looking for is some sort of heated exchange …I will not give you that one…but…I dish it out often enough…I can take it when it’s dished.
BTW: I don’t exploint labor in a Surf Shop because I no longer own one. I do own a couple of other Surfboard Related businesses that have zero employees.
(Please quit with the misleading urban ledgends of the not so successful, I need an excuse U.S. board builder. )
Ha Ha Ha
And true enough on the fumes…I remember them well.
(When you really want to compliment surftech please post again. This was far from being of praise or complimanetary to Surftech.)
Sorry I don’t need your approval Otay. The purpose was not to sing praises of Randy French or Surf Tech…we have you for that don’t we?
The purpose was to write about another idea and write a post that is mostly positive about Surf Tech. I think I did that. Surf Tech has up to this point done well in that area. They produce a first class product that is enjoyed by some surfers and have it well placed. What else would you like me to add?
OTAY,
Just an observation, but most people here are liberating themselves from the dependence on others to supply them surfcraft.
If you’re looking for people to jump on the Randy French bandwagon you may be in the wrong place.
Am I supposed to applaud Randy French because he was the first surfboard manufacturer to capitalize on third world labor? Innovator? Because he followed the business plan of the hundreds of thousands of mega corporations that came before him?
Did RF have some grand idea? I mean surely you can’t believe that other board builders before him didn’t have this idea (the idea of cheap labor) in their minds at one time or another. So why didn’t someone do it before? Maybe respect. Respect for the customer, Respect for the industry, and the pride in their final product.
Once the first went down the rest just fell like dominoes. Not like they had much choice in the matter. Join or die? What would you do?
I’ll give RF some credit, he does hold the third world to a higher standard. I also do believe he wants to make surfboards better (at a price a bunch of cheapa$$es will pay) and that counts for something.
FACT — I work at a surf shop and hardly feel exploited, maybe just a little, hahaha
FACT — Different strokes for different folks
FACT — I’m ridiculously sarcastic.
Just one thing: Hey RF maybe you should keep the surftech stogies for the boardroom, this is the ocean, not a f’in ashtray.
Did someone steal your logon Solo?
Ah, the peculiar marriage of Art vs. Commerce. The debate will go one forever. The tension between the two won’t go away and makes for a great discussion over a beer or two.
The starving artist/shaper making art/shaping boards for art’s sake.
The commerce-driven business model of making boards for the sake of making a buck.
I have nothing against either.
To think that the surfboards will remain some exclusionary art form is a pipe dream.
I love this country and free capitalists societies because a guy like Randy French saw an opportunity and has done an excellent job executing on it. Good for him.
There’s a silly irony in Blakestah’s comment. He pokes fun at Randy French for not being accepted by the masses at his local break. Who give’s a rat’s arse? Sounds like the capitalist - not the starving artist - in this instance is the anti-establishment rebel, doesn’t it? Following his path despite being shunned by the ‘mainstream’ of hand-shaped advocates.
You guys still have no clue. I am not picking any fight but just pointing out your BS.
Back to my economic claims. You can’t compare what wage is earned but what that wage buys in the country it is earned.
It is very simple.
Last I checked, the manfacturing category of surftech in thailand has nothing to do with the sex trade you rant about. I sure am glad there is no sex trade in the U.S. except for the little towns called las vegas, miami, new york…, and on most street corners near you. Internet porn in the u.s. is a billion dollar industry. Not sure what you point is on that one. what is sex wax all about??? and all the other sexual inuendo board wax. Soft porn is throughout most surfmags, but hey we are guys and that’s cool but if it is in Thailand were surftechs are made we need to be indignent about it.
Again, if your posts, or any others that followed are considered complimentary or postive to surftech, I need to redefine the word compliment and positive.
Only time will show the historical importance of surftech and Randy French. What has fostachild contributed to the surfing industry? His last post shows ignorance, jealousy and only disrespect for established non arguable facts. In fact he doesn’t even argue my points on the economic impact on the wonderful Thai people because of surftech.
For such a positive post about surftech, every post to follow excluding mine was all negative. Great work…you really inspire the crew here to your opinions. Blakestah’s opinion insight of the parking lot incident was very stupid in my opinion. If he is such a chatty cathy why didn’t he have the balls to start the conversation. I am not even sure what RF looks like come to think of it. All quiet people beware, I will feel your pain of loneliness and only hope you can somehow be happy by blakstahs criteria for happiness.
Yeah, everyone has a right to hold an opinion but it doesn’t protect it from criticism, and in this case to point out pure stupidity of the logic.
Where was Bill Thrailkill gettting those bloke jobs at again?
Hey Solo,
Accusing OTAY of being a troll in this instance is the wrong way to respond to his counterpoint. His comments were not troll-like, IMHO. They seemed reasonable to me whether you or I agreeed with them or not. You put up a different opinion on the ST debate and have been challenged in what seemed to me to be in a reasonable manner. Wasn’t that thhe spirit in which you posted in the first place?
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Hey Solo,
Accusing OTAY of being a troll in this instance is the wrong way to respond to his counterpoint. His comments were not troll-like, IMHO. They seemed reasonable to me whether you or I agreeed with them or not. You put up a different opinion on the ST debate and have been challenged in what seemed to me to be in a reasonable manner. Wasn’t that thhe spirit in which you posted in the first place?
It is the spirit in which I posted the thread and I don’t mind an actual challenge. I responded to the challenge part of it.
But no…the bit about hating Randy French and knit picking on the Thailand thing when what I said was use your personal judgment on the issue is simply looking for a fight. I am going to remove the asian part from the post…so we can concentrate on the rest of it. (which is mostly positive about Surf Tech)
Solo----interesting post , and you sure stirred up an ant’s nest with your stick!-----from my viewpoint, i have no problems with Surf Tech, i really liked the one i got by trading another longboard for from a guy who hated the thing. It was A Randy French shape in wood veneer that rode really wel and held up great----i was sorry to sell it off while paying for my daughters wedding. ANYWAY, back to my point, surfing the activity, sport, religion, curse, pleasure–whatever you want to call it is full of two kinds of people -----Really interesting and total assholes–there seems to be very few inbetween these two extremes…the assholes stress $$$$$$ and coolness (theirs of course) and the interesting ones are just that interesting.
In over 40 years of surfing about half my time has been spend just sitting there watching the ebb and flow of the Surf…and indeed the most interesting times for me have been these:(in no particular order) 1. Short board revolution–2. Clark form ----3. SurfTech etal-----4. “Pro” surfing(whores) 5. Longboard revival----6. Noseriding craze of the 60’s 7. Surf Camp(schools) 8. surfcamps(resorts) 9. Amatuer surf ing association(politics) and #10. Surfing the Web!
What the heck, it’s all fun for somebody—i’m going for a paddle!
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Solo----interesting post , and you sure stirred up an ant’s nest with your stick!-----
Not my intention on this one…but I guess it’s just a controversial issue. I actually do admire certain things about Surf Tech. If I liked the way they rode…I think the Tech is interesting. I always admire and am curious about sucess…Randy French is no exeption. Especially when it’s based on a good product and good service.