Shaper Reveal: EAST With Harry Bryant
10 shapers, hand-picked and delivered blindly to our first goofy-footed test pilot.
Presented by Kona Big Wave and Vans.
“Harry just assumed that he would be ordering the boards,” chuckles EAST director/producer Danny Johnson. “He’s very, very particular about his surfboards and shapers. He’s so opinionated and confident with his boards, so I know he found it quite challenging to be in the dark and not know what was coming.”
In other words, we listened to the Premium Members who didn’t enjoy the fact that Mikey February knew who the EAST shapers were, as it seemed to limit his critical output. Also, we cut the number of boards down from 18 to a more palatable 10.
“The concept this year is emerging vs. experienced shapers,” continues Danny. “Harry wanted his complete EAST quiver to come from shapers with over half a century in the game. He spends hours on the phone every week talking to various elder legends of the shaping game, picking their brains, trying to glean all their wisdom.
“So, I wanted to test his theory and see what he’d make of a quiver that was one half revered and established legends and the other half young and emerging talent.”
Below are a few insights from Danny on why we included each shaper, as well as the dimensions for each of their boards.
Episode One goes live on Stab Premium this Tuesday, August 18th.
Corey Munn — @coreymunn
Cabarita, NSW, AUS
Board Dimensions: 5’10 x 19 x 2 3/8
Corey’s an emerging Gold Coast shaper, transitioning out of the longboard scene into fishes and experimental boards. He’s made boards for Mikey Wright, Kanaiya Webb, and more.
“I saw some clips of Kanaiya Webb on one of Corey’s boards before the series and it looked so flowy and smooth,” says Danny. “I like the idea of shapers that most people don’t know anything about. I’d say Corey is like that, he’s an interesting guy, he makes films, pottery, and shapes.
“The board Kanaiya is on is so flowy and smooth, it was a good one to contrast Harry’s surfing with.”
Cheyne Horan — @cheynehoran
Gold Coast, QLD, AUS
Board Dimensions: 6’0 x 19 x 2 ½ 32.1L
Known as ‘The Bridesmaid’ because he finished second in the world four separate times, Cheyne has been running his own EAST since he was on the World Tour from 1977 to 1993.
After stepping away from the tour, he became a macrobiotic vegetarian, a yogi, and a devotee of astrology and the I Ching.
“I think Cheyne suits EAST so well, because he’s been existing in his own realm of creativity and experimenting with board design since the ’70s,” says Danny. “He’s so far out wide that no one is anywhere near him in terms of tail designs, fins, board width and all that sort of shit. He’s been running his own EAST his whole life. He was testing boards like this while going for world titles, such a good inclusion.”
Greg Webber — @gregwebber2
Northern NSW, Australia
Board Dimensions: 6’3″ x 18 ⅛ x 2 ½ 30.3L
Backed heavily by the greatest surfer of all time, Greg Webber walks the jagged line between eccentric and genius.
“Kelly said on our podcast that we have to put Greg Webber in there,” recalls Danny. “So I just thought, ‘Fuck it, if Kelly says so, I’ll put him in.’ I’m not a Slater Hater. I wanted Greg in there as much for his surfboard as I did his opinions and personality.”
Will Solly — @solly_surfboards
Anglesea, VIC, Australia
Board Dimensions: 7’8″ x 20 3/4″ x 2 3/4″
You probably don’t know who Will Solly is.
Hell, I don’t know who Will Solly is… but, one glance at his instagram shows his unique, fringe board theories being backed by people we trust.
“Will is probably the least known shaper on the list. He’s very fresh to shaping, a complete unknown, but he’s also getting people’s attention with his experiments,” says Danny. “Kelly Slater is commenting on Will’s Instagram. He’s getting attention for these concepts that he’s cooking up down in Vicco. He’s worlds apart from a Cheyne Horan or a Greg Webber, I wanted someone heavy on the experimentalism typical in youth.”
Greg Brown — Gash Surfboards
Victoria, Australia
Board Dimensions: 5’5 5/8″ x 19 1/4″ x 2 7/16″
Establishing himself alongside other Victorian shaping greats like Wayne Lynch, Greg is best known as the founder of legacy label Gash Surfboards.
When we asked him to submit a board for Harry, he’d never even heard of the Electric Acid Surfboard Test.
“Greg is somewhat underground, but he’s a shapers shaper,” says Danny. “Particularly in Australia, anyone who knows surfboards knows Greg. And he’s so far removed from the digital world, he doesn’t even know what EAST is. I thought it’d be interesting to bring someone who’s not concerned about the project, he’s the antithesis of self-promotion.
Tom Morat — @tommorat
Noosa, QLD, Australia
Board Dimensions: 6’3 x 19 1/16 x 2 9/16
The half-French, half-Australian 25-year-old finished second in last year’s EAST with Mikey Feb. Following its release, he was overwhelmed with orders for the Fender Two, a 2+1 swallow tail that looked remarkable under Feb’s feet.
Courtesy of him and Harry’s familiarity, we asked him to shape something a bit different this year.
“Tom did so well in last year’s test and was kinda the newest young shaper,” says Danny. “I wanted to have him there purely because he did so well. His board looked so good on Mikey’s feet.
“Harry and Morat went to the same high school, they’ve known each other their whole lives, so I pushed him to make something that Harry wouldn’t recognize.”
Ashton Pickle — @ah.vessels
San Clemente, California
Board Dimensions: 6’4″ x 18 11/16″ x 2 9/16″
Ashton has been shaping unique surfboards for the past decade, but he began his career as a Physical Therapist.
“Going through PT school, you’re looking at bodies and the way they move and you realize that everybody walks and moves differently based on their body type,” he told us, in this story. “And then looking at surfing and realizing how everybody moves uniquely on a surfboard is interesting. There isn’t really one specific body type or technique that is perfect in surfing. Especially when it comes to making surfboards, understanding body mechanics is so important.”
“Ashton has been on our radar for a long time,” says Danny. “People have been suggesting him for EAST for ages, he’s been quietly impressing people the past few years. He’s a physical therapist and he has a very intellectual, biomechanical, and methodical approach to surfboards.”
Chris Christenson
Carlsbad, California
Board Dimensions: 5’9 18 7/8 x 2 7/16
Chris hardly needs an introduction. He’s one of the few shapers on the list that truly could be in Stab In The Dark, EAST, or even a Big Wave Stab In The Dark. Just ask 2009 Eddie winner Greg Long.
“Honestly, the main reason I wanted to get Chris in is because I heard he refused to do Electric Acid in the past,” says Danny. “That made me curious to see if he would do it, and he did. In the past, he’d mentioned the only invite he’d accept would be to Stab In The Dark.”
Christian Fletcher X Steve Boysen
San Clemente, California
Board Dimensions: 5’11.5” x 19.65 x 1.7
Yeah, you read that right, 1.7 inches of thickness.
Christian Fletcher is one of surfing’s great madmen, a trailblazer of aerial surfing and ‘90s countercultural edge. In partnership with shaper Steve Boysen, he’s spent the past couple decades refining the very unique design he submitted.
Worth mentioning, the middle of the board is the thinnest, and it’s unlike most surfboards that have existed in almost every way.
“Christian has shaped a bunch of boards, but he’s not really a shaper. This board is a collaboration of sorts,” says Danny Johnson. “The design that was submitted is something Christian has been refining for decades and in recent times has partnered with legendary Californian shaper Steve Boysen and shape and produce.”
Trevor Gordon
Santa Barbara, CA
Board Dimensions: 5’4 x 20 1/8 x 2 ⅜
Trevor Gordon is Santa Barbara’s answer to Ryan Burch — a lanky, highlining shaper who proves his designs with his own feet in the waves he grew up on. He’s boat-savvy and has developed a penchant for short, chop-nose, straight railed twinnies.
“He’s a very talented surfer/shaper with a cult following,” says Danny Johnson. “He proves the functionality of his boards, all by himself. Since his designs are already well proven, we wanted him to challenge Harry. So, the board he submitted isn’t exactly what he would’ve chosen to shape for Haz, but it adds a good variety in there.”
Episode 1 of EAST with Harry Bryant presented by Kona Big Wave and Vans premieres live tonight (Friday, August 14) at Tremont Collective in Oceanside, CA (6:30 – 9:30 pm).
The online release is Tuesday, August 18, exclusively on Stab Premium.
