3x Stab In The Dark Champion Explains Surfboards Biz Strategy And The Happy-ness Spectrum

Are surfboards entering the epoch of the “family plan”?

No, not the one-price-for-a-family-of-five cell phone model, but a range of boards for a variety of conditions that are designed to feel similar under your feet.

“The idea behind this Happy Family of boards is to provide continuity and a seamless feel in the rockers and general performance of the board (when stepping up or down) to meet the needs of the ever- changing conditions,” said Britt Merrick, who’s won more Stab in the Darks than any other shaper.

The boards range from: A groveler — the “Happy Everyday” (which placed 2nd in Taj Burrow’s Stab in the Dark), to the “Two Happy” for good waves, to the “Big Happy” for those who want more volume, and finally to the “Happy Traveler”, designed for just about the best waves you can conceive of.

Also, our Stab Premium has already dipped their toes into the family affair. Two of these boards cracked the Top 10 in our survey of “Best Surfboards On The Market, According To You” this year. The “Two Happy” scored the lucky #7 spot and the “Happy Everyday” placed #4.

Dane Reynolds had this to say about the “Two Happy”: “The Two Happy is pretty much just a modern performance shortboard, but with a little bit more moderate rocker profile. When the waves are a bit on the smaller side, which is pretty often where I live, I grab a NeckBeard 2 with Spine-Tek. When the surf gets good in the winter here or when I go on a surf trip, I’m grabbing the Two Happy.”

And, Dane was instrumental in creating the Happy Everyday, though it didn’t go totally as planned. It’s now a cult favorite. “The Happy Everyday came from Stab for Taj Burrow’s SITD,” Britt said. “You guys [Stab] said you wanted a small-wave performance board and I really wanted to make something fresh. I reached out to Dane (Reynolds) and we worked on it together. We probably made nine iterations and Dane didn’t like any of them, but it ended up finishing runner-up in Taj’s Stab in the Dark.”

Aside from being one of the world’s best shapers, Britt is also a shred businessman. Watch CI’s edit above to see what we mean.