Creed McTaggart On Parting Ways With Haydenshapes, Touring With Wash And Peddling Merch

Two days back Shaun Manners and Creed McTaggart dropped a ten minute DIY vid starring themselves exclusively onboard the surfcraft of Shaun’s father, Mat Manners.

We dug the soundtrack and we dug the surfing the pair were doing in various Australian locations. The clip almost had a Real Axe vibe to it. Fair, considering Toby Cregan taught them a little on how to splice it all up in Premiere.

Putting two and two together, the clip raised questions as to the situation with Creedo and longtime board backer, Haydenshapes. Over beers at their backyard campsite on the NSW South Coast, it was confirmed that Creed wasn’t just sneaking around with another shaper, he and Mr Cox had contractually parted ways six months prior.

Mr McTaggart’s been a busy man in and out of surfing. He designed a range with Billabong (that Stab backed), we had him shipped him out for Stab High, where he stuck a groovy flip during warmups, and his band Wash, recently recorded and released an album (which Creed did all the heavy lifting for).

Right now he, Ellis and Beau Foster are rolling into the Melbourne zone for the rest of their tour with garage outfit, The Pinheads.

Stab dialled up Creed (and Shaun Manners, who was riding shotgun at the time) just after the Mat Manners Surfboards clip had dispersed digitally, to shoot the shit and get up to speed with his various happenings. 

Stab: How’s the clip going? Getting some good response?

Creed: Yeah, it’s poppin’ off! Hopefully Maty gets some orders.

Is he psyched?

Shaun: He’s just come in from a surf at Main-ies, he’s frothing. He’s going home now to watch it on his laptop.

Where and when was it shot?

Creed: The last six months, just in West Oz and NSW. It was two trips and we shot with James Kates, Tom Jennings, Mikey Mallalieu and this lord from West Oz called Rex. Isaac Jones too, he shot some stuff.

I hear you guys edited it yourself, how was that experience?

Shaun: It was real fun. Pretty seamless. It was good having two heads on it.

We already had the tracks we wanted to use, so we banged it out in two days.

Any highlights from shooting?

Creed: Yeah there was a couple of sessions that were pretty fucked up, but mainly just shooting with those lads, they’re all our friends, just working with them is so good. Talking to the filmers and getting tips on how to edit was helpful

I haven’t used Premiere before, I had no idea how to use it, so those lads helped us, it was good. And Toby (Cregan), helped too.

Do you reckon you’ll do more DIY production like this in the future?

Both: Yeah, for sure.

It was really fun.

Shaun: I’d never used the program before, but now I’ve got a bit of an idea, so it’ll keep happening.

What’s coming up? Shooting for Rage at the moment, or?

Creed: We’ve got a little boat trip coming up in April with Rage and other than that, we’re just finishing off this tour, which finishes at the end of February.

So now that you’re riding other boards, what’s the story with the split from Hayden?

Creed: That happened about six months ago. While I was riding for him I just wanted to try other people’s boards and not necessarily ride for anyone else.

His boards were going really good. We’re having a little break I guess.

I used to ride Mat’s boards when I was younger and they went pretty good, so it’s sick to be back on them. I’m going to try some other boards as well.

I think as a surfer you’ve really got to try other shapers, it’s a big part of it, I reckon.

Yeah, you don’t know what you’re missing, what you could do better and that kind of thing.

Creed: Yep. And Hayden and I are still mates, it wasn’t like we’ve got beef or anything, and I’ll probably get some boards off him down the track. I just want to try other boards, you know?

So how’s Mat as a shaper?

Shaun: He makes really high-quality surfboards, with a lot of love in them. He makes them from start to finish, all by himself. He also still really enjoys shaping, which is rare.

You were saying they were real ‘Margaret River boards’?

Creed: Yeah, they’re just real solid boards. They’re probably a little bit heavier, but I kinda like that.

They go good at Margs, but I’ve been riding them on the east coast and they go good over here too.

I rode just one surfboard in the entire edit. In small rippable waves it was fun, then in bigger waves, it felt sick.

It’s a 6’1 square tail, it goes really good.

Does he have a model name for that?

Creed: Ah no, I don’t think so. That was just the first board he shaped me.

I asked him about six months ago if he was keen to shape me one and I thought it was a bit thick for me when I first got it, but I don’t think that anymore, it’s sick.

What’s Mat’s plan? He looking to scale up? Release some models?

Shaun: He’s just letting it roll, cruising in Margaret River. Shaping is his job, he just works every day and loves surfing Main Break and hanging out with his misso and daughter. He’s hoping things will pick up, and continue to put food on the table. I’ve got a plan to keep doing clips like this and I’m sure Creed’s down for more.

Creed, with your band, Wash, how’s the tour been?

Creed: It’s been super fun. We’ve played Brisbane, Byron, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Lansdown in Sydney.

The Pinnies [Pinheads] are bringing in quite a few people, so everyone’s been going off for them. There’s been a couple mosh pits, a few tee shirts getting sold.

It’s good catching up with the crew, who we met as kids and now they’re older, it’s rad to have a beer with them at all the spots.

People have been popping off, there’s been a really good energy.

Sick. And the records, have they been moving? Or mostly online?

Mostly online. We brought a couple of records. But the tee shirts are moving. Bug screen printed them himself and they came out pretty good.

We’ve got Ballarat this Thursday at Korova Lounge, the Tote on Friday, then at the Brisbane in Hobart on Saturday. Shaun plays his first show with Blistar [Noa Deane’s band] that night on guitar.

You’ve been running all the business side of it, pressing and sending them out and all that jazz, are you digging doing that?

Yeah, it’s been interesting to see where people are buying your shit. Like, there’s some random orders that you get from Russia, Jamaica, Israel, that kind of thing. It’s pretty cooked [laughs].

It’s nice, I’ve got all the records at home. We did all the artwork ourselves and paid for the records to get pressed. I like it.

What’s in the works? You going to get some more material going and do some more recording?

Yeah yeah, keen to start working on another album, slowly plod away. All of us are pretty busy so it’s hard to get together sometimes, but we’ve got some ideas coming along.

Do you feel like the sound is evolving?

Mmm, I don’t know… Yeah, I think so, maybe? I hope so!

It’s just fun. Sometimes you write a song and you’re like ‘fuck that’s so torched, I can’t believe I wrote that’ [laughs].

We don’t try to take it that serious, it’s just something we enjoy doing.

Going on tour is the funnest.

You get pretty burned out on the road?

Kinda. We’ve been pretty good this time.

We have definitely had a few beers, but we’ve been surfing every day, so not feeling like a full pile. We’ve been moving around a lot, so yeah keeping the dream alive.