An Australian Surfer-Shaper With A Unique Approach

Dan Johnson, not to be confused with Stab’s Danny Johnson, is a twenty-two year old originally from Crescent Head on New South Wales’ mid-north coast. 

Dan’s not your prototypical early-twenties coastal town hi-fi ripper sporting a blonde mop. He’s the lead singer of the band ‘Smoking Hot’, shapes all his own boards under the label ‘Snarly’, and is chipping away at a communications degree on the side. Great hustle. 

Dan used to be called ‘Fish Boy’ at school (one of those childhood nicknames you’d be happy to shake post-graduation) because he would breed fish and sell them, “I had like, 12 fish tanks in my house,” he says in an interview with Red Bull. 

Dan’s move to DIY shaping came about after he realized his passion for riding “weird boards”, that “no one really made where I was growing up”. Dan has now shaped close to 100, one of which, a Stab employee can attest to working rather well underfoot. Between his shaping, surfing and creative skills, and now, the support of O’Neill and TCSS, Dan’s got a hell of a lot going for him. 

Get to know Dan Johnson’s eccentric approach in this clip shot by Cam Staunton and scored to an original soundtrack by drummer, Paddy Rodgers.