Shaun Manners’ New Epøkhe Frame is a Stroke of Genius

Shaun Manners’ emergence from the Australian surfing wings has been meteoric.

Known to his friends as “Chun”, once he was a spring-headed grom tagging along with Creed and co, tapping/locking lips and throwing fins in pretty generic fashion. Fast forward only a few years and he’s lost the locks, covered in tats, falling from the sky at Gnarloo, landing giant jumps at North Point, all in flawless style. In short, he’s fully deserving of a signature Epøkhe frame.

Rumour has it that Creed McTaggart’s signature Candy frame is one of the biggest Epøkhe sellers to date, and it’s certainly been a game-changer in eyewear style in fringe coastal communities. Shaun’s frame is a nice extension of the Candy, with added radical snake detailing. We’d expect it to shift a few units also.

Whilst most of the grungy surf contingent wouldn’t be caught dead in branded surfwear (unless it’s vintage and bearing the logos of a brand that’s long since deceased), they all wear Epøkhe. It’s the genius of the brand. They saw a gap in the surf market – left gaping by the big dogs of yesteryear (Oakley, Arnette et al) and swung in with the perfect mix of high end, quality frames (but not inaccessibly so) and a team consisting of the most carpark-credible surfers around.

The new frame’s called Guilty, and it’s a nice take on the Versace frames set to remain in the public consciousness as long as people keep dancing to “Juicy”, “Mo Money Mo Problems”, “Big Poppa” etc. “Forever,” as it’s otherwise known. The kids are allergic to branding, so the snake on the arm’s a stroke of genius – recognisable, but not dorky. And it was Chun’s idea. The winds of sales are hard to predict, but we’d wager that these are going to walk themselves off shelves.

Grab a pair of Chun’s new shades here.