The Surfboard That Stab Won’t Stop Talking About

It’s strange there’s not more hype surrounding this board and while watching Brazil I think I figured out why. When Stu Kennedy put the Slater Designs Sci-Fi on the map last year at Snapper they sold out right after they launched. Then people realised they were plugs and not much different than a Firewire. Slater also hasn’t done them much justice. So, when the JS Hy-Fi Monsta-6 launched, among all the other shapers versions, I think people were scared off of the tech already. And, the price point is another issue as it’s higher and surfboards are already expensive. They could quite easily be passed off as gimmicky. For the average California surfer, however, I reckon everyone should have one.

Anyway, enough of my shit theories. I ordered mine because Sam (Stab‘s publisher) wouldn’t stop talking about his Monsta 6. On my honeymoon in Yamba last year he unveiled it and he was tearing. All his best mates seemed genuinely impressed by his surfing, although they wouldn’t tell him and made him feel self-conscious every time he tried to gush about it, which I love. He felt so compelled to give it the credit it deserved he even wrote a story, which in the three years that I worked for Stab I’d never seen him put his name on something. I pretty much ordered mine to try and prove him wrong, thinking it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I was wrong.

I’ve never really liked epoxy boards, they’ve always felt like they’re pushing or dragging water to me, so I’ve just stuck to poly. Since living in Ca, getting a job and surfing less I moved towards fishes when it’s below waist high. I figured if I’m not going fast I’m not having fun. And the typical 6’1 doesn’t fit in a waist high pocket–to me, that’s the craziest thing about this board. It’s got all the best assets of a fish and a regular shortboard. I felt like Filipe or John John riding it because those guys just use their reg short board from knee high to overhead which I think is really cool. Sure I look like Brad Domke riding a thruster but I feel like JJF or Jordy in my head, which is all that matters, right? 

Now, I’ll stop massaging JS’s ego and nitpick. On my backhand it feels like I overpower it, but bigger fins would fix that (more user error than anything). Also, it won’t work in anything with power over four feet (although it’s 6’1 with standard thruster dims). At decent size Topanga it was tracking a bit too much. The name’s lame and as far as aesthetics go, that big, black snakeskin band up the top is gross. But, it’s nothing a bit of white paint can’t fix.

Back to the good, the love for this board doesn’t fall on just Sam and I. I was talking to former CT surfer, Luke Munro who along with a few other mates reckon it’s one of the best boards they’ve ever had. The general consensus was that it makes you excited to surf shit waves which is perfect for the sad excuse that is the Los Angeles surf scene.