Heck, I miss Greg too.
Is it over? Have we been cast aside like some worn out play thing? You have a new love. I know it. A shaper/glasser can tell. Oh well, better to have learned and lost, than never to have learned at all.
yeah , HOW are you going over there , Bert ?
been really busy ?
I hope you’ve been scoring some really good waves on the goldie and perhaps points south .
It would be nice to hear from you mate ! I still look at your making fins thread from time to time , and think what a great resource that is ! [not to mention your vacuum bagging thread …that got LOTS of people started , for sure !]
Good to see you and Nev getting mentioned in surfing mags now , too . [I think it was “Surfing World” I saw you in recently]
cheers ,
ben
i heard greg ws in Indonesia late last month. I really wish those guys wouldcome back.
I strongly suspect that anyone who follows the path they (and others since) have blazed will come across them again.
Either in person or electronically.
But I’d bet money they won’t surface here again.
Most uncool how certain people sunk the boot in on departure.
Are we morphing into surfermag?
As I understand it, Marketing isn’t part of Bert’s job description, and design forums qualify as Marketing now. Say what you will about Bert, but its clear he takes his work seriously - whether for himself or a larger organization. Its a shame, but evolution too, I guess. In a way, I think the fact that his design & construction talents are in such demand is a validation of what he’s been working on for so long. I’m pleased he gets to do the part of the job he’s best at. Our loss, sure, but it speaks to how rare his skill set really is.
Quote:
Most uncool how certain people sunk the boot in on departure.
agreed
As I hear it Bert had to cut the forum thing cold turkey - he’s too damn helpful! I don’t think the arguments drove him from here, but rather he’s not the type to issue company speak and the powers that be couldn’t stand the waves (ironic, isn’t it). I hope the firewire team realizes what a wealth of knowledge Bert is. We’ve lost a lot of the super helpful this year that are all missed. I guess its just the nature of forums. I was playing around in archive land and some guy named KeithM 
talked about the same thing about the time that the forum switched to the new software.
There has been considerable comment lately about the evolving epoxy market. Some of the discussions have centered around the state of surfboard technology, where the market is going and from time to time, fairly specific commentary about Firewire surfboards. In some cases these comments have come from people associated with our Brand.
For the record, we believe our boards are great and all claims as to performance and durability are legit. We are proud of the creative team we have assembled and as you know when the talk turns to surfboards, a tremendous amount of passion is involved. That being said, while everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, sometimes in the absence of any official word, those opinions could be misconstrued as the Company’s position as well.
(Mark Price - Firewire Surfboards)
This kind of sounds like the final word from the official company spokesperson… I’ll leave final interpretation and speculation as to what might have been said behind closed doors at Firewire to the reader.
I just got back from Surf Expo; last year Future shapes had boards on the floor and a small TV playing video in a very simple booth. Bert would just be hanging around and full of information, eager to talk to swaylockians. This year Firewire was a Fortress within the convention center, Four big walls kept all the secrets within, there was only one visible board in the courtyard, No Bert , No Greg to be seen anywhere, worst of all no info to be had, he and the generals were behind the walls keeping appointments with the politicians and leaders of the new surf industry. Man things have changed in a year. Best of luck to them!
that attitude will affect sales!
I was talking to a guy the other day who knows bert . He has seen him surf , and bought his sunova boards .
His comment was basically that Bert is a freakish talent , as a designer , and as a surfer , and that West Oz didn’t know that . But now he is on the Gold Coast working for firewire , the hard earned experience and expertise will be recognised and hopefully respected .
It was good to hear . Rockingham , where Bert worked here , was such a backwater . The Gold Coast , where he works now , much more centre stage .
Good on ya Bert and Taj and Wildy and Speedneedle , and all the others involved . It will be interesting and hopefully exciting times to see where the future of high performance surfing goes with firewire and others .
cheers
ben
p.s. - by the way , Bert , if by any chance you are reading this thread …
there is a photo of Justin Redman launching an aerial on one of your ‘Sunova’ mals [“longboard”] in the first issue of ‘Surfwest’ , which just came onto the newstands last week …
Oh god I’m gonna cry.
aaww shux
the esclusivity of I know ship marketing
even when guised as I dont know ship
is stiffle ling.
the moon comes up over the porcelin bowl
and the coyotes howl
DAYS GONE AWAY!!!
as the sound of spashing resonates throughout the tiled expanse
we can only await the spashing of the cascades
taking away the memories of passed feasts.
tom mix had a great hat
it was white.
he was a good guy.
the guys behind the curtained enclosure
might be wearing white hats still
they might still be good guys.
They might be corrupted by the dark side of the force
in the darkness of exclusivity ,secrecy,and profit motive
we must remain compassionate.
the tools they shared ,when they were sharing,
will feed us for some time to come
if the come back to share
with we the unlearned and hungry
will they be self serving?
were they always?
judgements best defered
perhaps later when more information is availiable.
Made in Islas Mentawi?
a jungle factory at jeff’s lefts?
bring wealth to the pagan indians of indianneesia?
the styrofoam plantations
overrun by red guard politicos
surfing dominated by
second generation emmigrates to the third world
Bert being held captive in the NEVERLAND Matrix
powering up a factory off the grid
whilst poor old bert is
hard wired up to a giant
device
and forced to dream of surfing old days at home.
or mebe just golphing alot and sipping mint julips
at the club and not recognizing peter drouyn
behind the hatcheck counter…
althouggh his gaze is fixed up on nowhere’s great rainbow
he seems to be contented
by morphing up
on …desolation row.
…ambrose…
appologies to
robert zimmerman
bringin it all back home
is stuck in the mitzubishi tape player
and the rust just keeps on rusting
The real question wrt Bert is what happens five years down the road…does Bert get fed up with the mass corporate approach, sell out, and go back to making boards and surfing in West Oz?
Or does he eventually morph into the machine that so pissed him off for so many years?
I’ve seen people go both ways…definitely advantages to each…but someone truly interested in shaping and design will never be content to have to hide behind their technicolor dreamcoat and eschew their old peers.
Does invention and curiousity win, or money?
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His comment was basically that Bert is a freakish talent , as a designer
I’ve heard the same thing from others who have worked with him (except they used the word - genius 
).
…for the media and the average worldwide surfer, the money
how many people know about J Phillips or other longtime master shapers?
How right you are.
The great thing about Bert is that he is first to recognise and give kudos to those that came before him.
The only thing that you can count on is change.
Who will step up next to motivate and inspire people to think outside the box?
Feel very privalidged that we were able to get a glimpse of a mind that never stops taking the next step.
I drank the coolaid
It tastes good
Christian
oh yeah
one man , one car , hands that create and thousands of kilometers of uninhabited coastline with waves yet surfed …
da cats in the cradle with the silver spoon …
will da cat get fat from feeding on the offerings of kings and morph into the new status quo?
or will da cat go feral ?
lost cat .
lucky cat .
cool cat .
fat cat .
top cat .
chasing pussy cat.
bad cat .
alley cat .
good cat .
wild cat .
happy cat .
dead cat .
pick nine any nine …
regards
BERT
In reply to the change in booth set up from nev/future shapes to the fortress firewire booth. I was at the expo also for the jan show and last weekends. The reason everything was so “secret” was that the reps displayed the board line and went into full detail about the product. I actually spoke with greg through out the weekend and being a new builder he has still been a great help and always shown the time to share his knowledge. After meeting with greg and his team the first morning. I sat on a 6 and a half hour waiting list to talk with the national sales rep. I understand why they did appointment only displays, the overall attention you received once you got in the booth was well worth the wait and greg was always able to answer any tech questions anyone needed. Over all the place was a madhouse, greg was jammed with buyers, builders and shit shooters the entire time I was there. In the end he still found time to talk to a long time swaylocks troll.–Kevin