Thursday, February 24, 2011

South Bay Boardriders Contest #2 Sponsored by Body Glove

This last weekend was the second contest in a series of 5 held by the South Bay Boardriders Contest Sponsored by Body Glove held at El Porto. It was great to see some old time faces from the past. Good times!

A couple shout outs and congrats to Becca Rosen (2nd) and Rachel Tominaga (3rd) riding custom Oak Foils in the Women’s Open Division. Competing in two divisions Rachel also made the finals of the 18 and under and was awarded 3rd place. Also Chris Wells did well by advancing through a few heats into repo charge in the Men’s Open division.

The line-up was a tricky one as I watched alot of veterans make the same mistake by lining up in wrong area. All in all despite the forecast the morning started out sunny and clear, ultimately the rains came later in the day but the contest ended on a good note.

Check out Easy Reader News: South Bay Boardriders Contest at El Porto

The next contest will be March 12 sponsored by Pier Surf and held at 26st Manhattan Beach (changed from Hermosa Pier). Subsequent contests are set for April 16 at 45th Street in Manhattan, sponsored by Surf Concepts; and May 21 at the Manhattan Pier, sponsored by Spyder Surf.

UPDATE;
Dear competitors contest #3, Pier Surf at 26th Street Manhattan Beach is fast approaching on MARCH 12th. To clear up any confusion the location is at 26th Street in Manhattan Beach. We could not get a permit with Hermosa Beach as this is the same day as the St. Patrick's parade. Waves should be better at 26th street so we are stoked with this location. Hope to see you at the contest and thanks for entering in the past.

Thanks,

Mike Balzer
President, South Bay Boardriders Club

For more information visit SouthBayBoardriders.com.

South Bay Boardriders First Contest

The inaugural South Bay Surf Series contest was held on Jan 15th at 26th St in MB sponsored by ET Surf. Great turn out with some fun waves to be had by all.

Special shout outs to these competitors riding custom Oak Foils shapes;

Congrats to Chris Wells taking the top honor in the Open Men’s division. Chris also competed in the Senior Men’s taking 3rd place.

Competing in the Womens Open, Becca Rosen awarded 2nd and Rachel Tominaga 3rd .

Great Job! Stoked to see amateur competition again in the So Bay, it's been along time coming.

Easy Reader "South Bay Surf Series"

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Civic Couch South Bay Surf Issue 1



I had an opportunity to do an informal shapers Q and A with Brad Jabcobson for the inauguaral Civic Couch South Bay Surf Issue. Killer shots from the local photographers and the So Bay heavy hitters ripping this winters swells. Check out:

Civic Couch South Bay Surf Culture 1st Issue

Jim the Pragmatical Son XL-HPS Futures 5-fin convertible






Or is it "Prodigal Son"? ;)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Oak Foils Hoodies goodies!

Hanes Ultimate Cotton Hoodies 10 oz heavy weight fleece with zipper. Super soft pillow pill fleece with a high-stitch density and double-fleece stitched arm holes. Toasty.
*10.0 oz 90/10 Cotton/Polyester
*Jersey-lined hood with metal grommets
*Bar-tacked dyed to match drawstring
*Split pouch pockets
*Spandex blend rib cuffs and waistband
Colors;
*Black
*Navy

All Hoodies $48 Shipping $5per Envelope These will be shipped in USPS Priority in the Tyvek Envelopes. Flat rate shipping. Email me oakfoils@msn.com with design, and size. I'll email back with confirmation and Purchase Order, Payment through Paypal only.


New Ghost Shapers Guild Design by Artist Mitch Meidroth
(Mitch Designed this for a new possible shaping project with other Ghost Shapers)
Very Limited. Colors, Black. (Small, Large, XXL, sold out)



Classic Snap / Foilsville Design by Artist Chris Charney.
Colors, Black. (Small, XXL sold out)



Oak Foils rail script on back / Oak leaf front
Colors, Navy. (Small, Large, XXL sold out)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Oak Foils T-Shirts are finally in!

Gildan Ultra Cotton T's these are 6.1 Oz pre-shrunk 100% Cotton. (These are not thin wimpy skinny t's )
Colors;
*Black
*Navy
*Light Blue

All T's $25, Shipping $5per Envelope (can fit more than one t-shirt in envelope.) These will be shipped in USPS Priority in the Tyvek Envelopes. Flat rate shipping. Email me oakfoils@msn.com with design, color, and size. I'll email back with confirmation and Purchase Order, Payment through Paypal only.

New Ghost Shapers Guild Design by Artist Mitch Meidroth
(Mitch Designed this for a new possible shaping project with other Ghost Shapers)
Very Limited. Colors, Black, Light Blue, and Navy. (Light Blues in SM,M,L, XXl sold out, only a few Light Blues in XL left)



Classic Snap / Foilsville Design by Artist Chris Charney.
Colors, Black, Light Blue.




Oak Foils rail script on back / Oak leaf front
Colors, Navy, Light Blue (Light Blue SM,XL,XXL sold out)




Simple, Ain't easy. Designed by Artist Chris Charney
Colors, Light Blue only. Simple aint easy front / Oak Foils Rail Script back.
(Small, sold out)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Jim the next 52 yrs old, +200lb Kelly Slater

It’s been awhile since I shaped Jim his last Dyna-Glyde, he’s on the right coast and surfs the Outer Banks. He emailed me the other day inquiring about a new performance shape for some good waves for his area. Jim mentioned that he had just purchased a new custom directly from the shaper that builds boards on the right coast lets just say the company name rhymes with “FOIL”.

Jim’s occupation is an engineer, 52 yrs old and weighs in at 200 lbs. Get’s out on the weekends and has a drive just to get to the surf, knowing Jim and his honesty about where he is with his surfing I know he doesn’t over sell himself when I inquire about his abilities. Be that said, Jim jumped on the hype wagon and ordered his new custom shape directly from the shaper that has the company name that rhymes with “FOIL”.

This new company vacuum bags all their shapes, which is great but it’s not the end all of construction and performance, especially for guys like Jim as these types of boards lack drive in comparo to a poly constructed shape of the same shape. Finally, when he gets his “custom” shape delivered it looks fine, but after his first surf he knew something was wrong as the board has no drive, can’t paddle worth a damn, can’t catch a wave worth a damn, gets stuck in the lip and has absolutely no drive what so ever.

Jim the engineer is now wondering WTF is wrong, is it him? Is it the board? He knows his basic volume and dimensions. They measure out fine, then he begins to measure the rocker, to his surprise the board has over +3.5” of tail rocker and over 6” of nose rocker, for a board 7 feet!!! When Jim mentioned this to me I thought for sure he had mis measured but he had measured correctly, he had taken the time to measure the curve every 3”. It was comical to me as I can visualize this curve and I couldn’t help but crack up, once the humor subsided I was becoming livid as how can a shaper from the right coast that should know the type of wave and Jims personals can shape such a board for him?! Jim had called the shaper to ask about why he had shaped soo much rocker in the board, and the shaper told him that it was some proven rocker BS. And basically did nothing for him basically go pound dirt. Too bad.

I mean come on man, lets get real. I haven’t shaped a board with 6” nose rocker and over 3.5” tail rocker since the potato chip early 90’s Slater craze. Even at the height of that area I never shaped those rocker dims. Let alone at 7' for a 200lb'r It's way over the top even for the most advanced rider. I doubt even Slater rode anything remotely close to those rocker dims.

When was the last time you’ve seen a 52 yrs old, +200lb, Kelly Slater? LOL!!

Hey Jim, I was soo amped to shape your board after our discussion I had this shape in my head as we were conversing and I couldn’t wait to shape it. It will be more appropriate for you. How's that saying go? Something about, “don’t believe the hype?"




Thursday, February 3, 2011

Oak Foils Head Gear Arrives

They're here! New Skool Trucker styled Hats. These are not your typical synthetic foam filled type. Front printed panel and visor is a cotton poly blend to keep your melon nice and cool. Black with white panel printed with black Oak Foils rail script and black mesh and black adjustable plastic band. $15 each.



Flexfit 210 fitted Wool baseball caps with the New Skool Flat Bill. (Sorry, No "Kooter" type bills, flat style only) $25 each

Navy Blue / White Leaf w/ Red Puff inner embroidery (Left) Red / White Leaf w/ Navy Puff embroidery. Sizes S/M 6 7/8" - 7 1/4" L/XL 7 1/4" - 7 5/8"

Navy Blue / Red backs w/ Oak Foils embroidery


Flexfit 210T 2-Tone Wool baseball caps with the "New Skool Flat Bill" $25 each

(Left) Red and Black w/ White Leaf, Red Puff embriodery, (Center) Black and White w/ Black Leaf, White Puff embroidery, (Right) Red and Black w/ Red Leaf, Black Puff embrodery

Only in Sizes L/XL 7 1/4" - 7 5/8"

2-Tone Backs w/ Oak Foils embroidery



Cuffed Beanies with Visor, Front White Leaf embroidery with Black or Red Puff border embroidery: $20 each

(Left) Olive (Right) Navy Blue


(Backs) Oak Foils embroidery on cuffed area.


To place an order just email me at oakfoils@msn.com with Item / Size / Style. Let me know if you would like me to ship. If so, what address to ship to. Shipping is approx +$5 per item. If possible will try and fit as many items into USPS Flat Rate Boxes or Envelopes to save on shipping multiple items.

I will send you a "Request Payment" from my Paypal account with an invoice of the total. Sorry at this time I can only accept Paypal for shipped orders. Thank you, Wayne

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mitch Meidroth Old Skool 1986


Mitch posted this pic I had taken of him at Marine St on FB. Mitch used to hang out and surf daily at Marine St. This shot was taken 1986 with my old 35mm Canon. At the time this shot was taken Mitch was a ripe old 16 years old. Back in those days it was common to see groups of young local grom rippers at Marine and most local breaks, now days it's extremely rare to see any young up and comers. Now days we might have a single guy to make the pros from the So Bay, back in those day it was common to see ASP pros ripping along side young local rippers like Mitch and Steve Meidroth bringing up the groms. Now days it seems like Marine has become the go to place for stand up guys. LOl,...Oh the glory years.
On a side note, Mitch designed the original Oak Foils leaf logo a few years after this shot was taken as a school project. He has helped me with many of my graphics over the years. Mitch has worked with many of the major surf brands designing graphic art he has also worked as an Art Director for some of the top companies in the Action Sport arena, not only a great artist with a keen eye but an awsome human being. Mahalo, Mitch!

Rachel's new custom quiver back from Oceanworks

Grom "Ol Faithful" in poly.



Grovelor II


Galaxy

UPDATE!
Congrats Rachel! Placed 2nd on her first day riding her new custom Galaxy, Great Job!