A 20 Minute Proof Of Concept From XO Coco’s First Year In Business

Last year, Coco Ho announced the arrival of her new female-focused surfboard brand — dubbed XO Coco. 

“The point of XO is to have stock standard female dimensions,” she told us. “In snowboarding, you have that, there are men’s boards and women’s boards, with the biggest difference being the width. I want to tailor all the dimensions for females, so girls can go buy a twin fin off the rack without it being overly sized. That can ruin someone’s experience, you know? If you hop on your boyfriend’s twin-fin and dig rail, you might decide you don’t like fishes. I think specific dimensions for females can create a happier place.

“And, we’re not just making a brand, creating a pretty logo, and making all the boards pink. We want to make a timeless, strong, female surf brand.”

A year in and things appear to be going swimmingly.

In our recent story on the next generation of performance shapers, we spoke with XO Coco’s up and coming Australian shaper, Avalon Starick.

“Matt [Parker] has shared so much knowledge about rockers and foils,” said Avalon. “That obviously plays a big part in these boards. He’s a master of making a board with so much foam and volume, while also retaining the aspects that make it rippable.”

“I’m shaping all the boards here in Aus, and also doing a lot of the backend stuff too, customer service, answering questions, managing a bit of production and stuff. It’s been really cool to have the opportunity to learn all sides of it. I’ve shaped Coco some boards that she’s given some beautiful feedback on. 

“My biggest goal is to just get XO Coco really cranking. I just want everybody to have the opportunity to surf them. I’ve got a few things in the works so we can get people hopping on them and having a go. I just want to keep progressing my shaping and coming up with new models, while sharing those boards with everyone.”

Click here to read that story, and click above to watch XO Coco’s first official film.