Phoresia.org

So I went to SurfExpo in Orlando this past Friday. I was actually looking forward to catching a glimpse of some new companies or products out there doing things a different way. I was sadly let down. Here’s a snippet of an email I sent to Ricardo after I got home from SurfExpo on Friday:

“So I was hoping to do a post about Expo with some featured stuff but there wasn’t really anything cool or noteworthy. That may be a post in itself, seeing that all the hype right now is on green, sustainable stuff, but it all seems to be hype and that the major companies are really just paying lip-service to the effort and it’s the small guys who have the power and flexibility to really change things in that regards.”

Perhaps we were a bit overly optimistic with our “One Year In” post. It seems we still have a long way to go towards a shift in mainstream consciousness. It got me to thinking though, that it’s not necessarily the bigger companies who are driving this change. It’s the smaller guys who still have the passion and aren’t beholden to their shareholders to become a constantly growing dividend return. I briefly talked with the guys from NVS Surf who have been building Biofoam boards for a while now. They are a good example of the smaller label focusing on a more sustainable business model. From their website “we carry products that are eco-friendly whenever possible.” It may seem like a simple concept, but as a business model it’s a powerful statement.

It should come as no surprise though, because as usual, it is the small scale surfer/shaper labels who are trying new things and building momentum and slowly making a difference where it really counts. Down the street, out in the water, with the guys who are out there surfing every day. I’m stoked on the fact that both Biofoam and Ice-Nine blanks are starting to get some recognition among the local shapers as not just being viable “green” blanks but as being viable blanks period. Ideally that’s the end result. When “green” or “sustainable” is no longer a tag word on the product but just assumed because it’s the right thing to do.

The two board pics in this post are the only two pictures I took this year at SurfExpo. Nothing really related to this post but I liked the artwork on both boards and figured since they were my token 2 images from Expo I’d throw them in this thread.

Check back next week for our regularly scheduled programming with an interview with Lars from 42 Surfboards.

– d.lawless