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A Rusty Prize Pack is coming your way!

Runners Up:

Charles Will (surfer)

Doug Aguillard (photographer)

Thanks to everyone for participating and for submitting all of the great photos!

Keep your eyes on the prize because a new Rusty Challenge will be posted soon…

Photo: Heff/FreeSurf

Pipeline comes to life and, once again, Rusty team riders anxiously greet the new swell!  Click on the photo of Jamie to see some video highlights from this week on the North Shore (provided by Surfline.com)…

One surfer who really felt the power of Margaret River today was 17 year old Gold Cast surfer James Woods who copped a severe thrashing over the appropriately named “Surgeon’s Table”, a shallow reef section of the break that ripped his rash vest from his body during an extended hold down.

“ I’ve been surfing 1 to 2ft waves on the Gold Coast for the past three months so it’s a serious change to get out amongst some real waves today” Woods exclaimed after his heat.

“That wave that dragged me over the reef was probably close to 10 feet and mid way through the tumbling my rash vest was ripped up over my head and sort of had me all tied up – I had no choice but to keep ripping it up and free myself of the vest so I could swim, see and breath when I finally came up and that’s the last I saw of it !”

Regardless of the wipe out, Woods showed he’s a serious contender here by easily winning his heat on a two wave tally of 12.90 out of a possible 20 with 2nd placed surfer in his heat, Mitch Baker for Victoria, well behind on 7.5.

Winners across the Boys and Girls 18 division and Boys 16 division will become automatic selections for the Australian Junior Team which will compete in Ecuador next March at the ISA World Junior Titles.

Finals will run this coming weekend.

Skuff.TV chat & go surfing with pro free surfer, Jay Davies, as he shreds South Africa, The Mentawais & his home of West Oz. Checkout all the Action from Jay & his fellow Rusty compadres in the new Rusty surf flick, Changes… Available now!

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

“Music! is a label I created early in ‘74,” Rusty reminisced, “I was shaping for G&S at the time and I did my first trip to Australia and stayed on the Gold Coast for a couple of months- February, March, and a bit into April- and I started dreaming about a new label I wanted to create for myself…”

With a slight tilt of the head and a fixed gaze aiming up and left, Rusty paused for a brief moment to sort through the thousands of archived boards stored in his head, “I decided to call it ‘MUSIC!’ “  After locating the particular collection of boards in the surf museum of his mind, Rusty continued without missing a beat, “Everyone that surfs listens to music to get pumped up before they go out and music to chill down to after they surf, and nowadays people are even taking music into the water!”

According to Rusty, the music that inspired him during the times were all the usual suspects, “Hendrix and Zeppelin and Santana; you gotta go back to ‘74… Geez, maybe even Deep Purple”  There is an obvious bond and correlation between music and riding waves and this can be seen (and heard) everyday, spanning from the personal jams you choose to listen to on the way to the beach, to the soundtracks of our favorite surf flicks, and to the tunes we hum in the line up; both music and riding waves are exciting and unique mediums of self expression.

Rusty created the logo for his new label and described it as, “a solar eclipse with a hand bleed,” and later created the R Dot (see “R.evolution: R Dot”).  He claims, “If you look at the word ‘music’ it is just sort of there, so, I decided to add an exclamation mark to the end of the word and tried to give it a vibe, turning ‘music’  into ‘MUSIC!’.”

“That’s what we rode back then!  It looks kind of racy now,” Rusty took a moment to discuss the details of a red, baby swallow tail, single-fin MUSIC! surfboard he has hoarded in his classic collection, “we would make them work in smaller surf, but, we always built them for a good day at Blacks or Wind’n'Sea.  That particular board (referring to one of the two oldest boards he shaped and still has in his possession) was shaped for Lawson Ellison in 1974.”  Ellison moved down to San Diego from the Santa Monica area and opened up a surf shop at La Jolla Shores (a subsidiary of Cadillac Surf Shop -which had another location up North) and he helped orchestrate some of the up and coming La Jolla Shores talent, including Peter and Richard Kenvin.  “He had seen my MUSIC! boards and, at the time, I was selling boards out of my truck.  He brought my boards into that shop.  I shaped some Cadillac Surfboards and then we put some MUSIC! surfboards in there too.”

The first 20 or 30 MUSIC! surfboards were glassed at the G&S factory where Rusty was working at the time; he left G&S shortly there after to focus on the MUSIC! label.  The following MUSIC! boards were glassed at Bill Caster’s factory and Rusty exclaimed, “I was thrilled about it! Bill had always been a hero and, at that time in ‘74, he was absolutely setting the bar for quality in San Diego.”

After about a year of making MUSIC! and scratching foam for his own label, Rusty decided to go back to UCSD and pursue a degree in Physiological Psychology.  “I did all of the prerequisites and started heading towards that degree.”  At that moment Rusty had a self-realization, “then I just thought… What am I going to do? Hang out with rats and pigeons the rest of my life!? Or do something I really love? ” A self fulfilling prophecy caused Rusty to shift gears and he obtained a degree in Art from UCSD.  Although, he was still shaping MUSIC! surfboards Rusty’s primary focus, at the time, was to get through school.  “I actually worked at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, first as a valet and then as a bellman.  Ya know, part time jobs to help pay the bills during the school year and in the summers I would shape a lot.  I would do a lot of freelance work the summer of ‘76 and ‘77, especially in North County- Sunset Surfboards and even John Kies.”

When Rusty graduated from UCSD he began shaping full time again and he had to find another glasser because Caster got too busy.  Rusty was pointed in the direction of John Durwood, who owned Canyon Glass.  Canyon glassed the MUSIC! surfboards for about a year and then Durwood approached Rusty about joining forces.  So, although Rusty was not a partner, he made all of his orders under the Canyon label and shaped exclusively for Canyon Surfboards until 1985, the year Rusty Surfboards was created.

Rusty keeps the MUSIC! name registered and occasionally will be asked to create a board with a MUSIC! label.  This lesser known label played a pivotal role in the development of the Rusty Surfboards we see today.  Although, the progressive Rusty shapes of today feature the R Dot logo, they still move to the rhythm of their distant cousins; everyone loves good MUSIC!

Text, Photos, and Interview: Brody

Surfing Magazine is in the middle of their “Month of the Shaper,” where each day they feature an interview with a different world renowned board builder. Read the full interview with 2008 Shaper of the Year, Rusty Preisendorfer…

Name: Rusty Preisendorfer
Zone: Twilight
Years Shaping: almost 40
Boards Per Week: then…handshape 20 plus; now…program 30 to 40 finish 15 to 20
Specialty: none really…I pride myself in being very versatile

Is your business better or worse since the Clark Foam shutdown?

Overall numbers are down. There is a lot more to it than Clark’s closure. Short supply of good foam immediately following Black Monday had a discernable impact on the US surfboard market that winter. It opened the doors for more imported boards…not just from Asia. Consumer confusion on what construction was really a positive step forward slowed sales. General economic concerns have taken over as probably the number one reason why many people are trying to get a few more miles out of old faithful. Better or worse? We are all having to make adjustments but I feel it’s better in the sense that it is more challenging which is more stimulating. I think we are all being forced out of our comfort zones, for better or worse, into the next big chapter in surfboard construction.

Do you feel polyurethane foam/polyester resin will always be the dominant surfboard construction?

Not always. I don’t see too many wood tennis racquets around anymore…collector’s items mainly. Persimmon drivers, steel bikes, wood airplanes and so on. For the most part, things keep moving along. At some point superior materials and construction techniques will replace most of the PU/PE in the marketplace except for art’s sake. Some folks like driving old cars around because they are cool and have some good memories attached. For the most part, the average consumer is concerned with value: good mileage, safety and comfort. Same thing with surfboards: something that has good performance characteristics is durable, and affordable. Short term, there are some riding characteristics of PU/PE that still appeal to some surfers in certain conditions. Classic longboards, big-wave paddle-in equipment. At some point sturdier materials with the “right” feel will take over more of the traditional market. Also, as the years tick by, isocyanate urethane foam along with polyester resins will become increasingly problematic from environmental standards and legislatively unwelcome…even in other countries.

Do you think there’s an increasing or decreasing appreciation for a custom surfboard?

Our custom orders are up. Most surfers with a bit of experience are realizing the benefits of a real custom board…not just pre-machined foam inventory that happens to match a narrow set of criteria and easy to customize with “your name here”. People trip out when I call them or email about a custom. I don’t do it with every order but if I see something that requires a little more information for me to feel comfortable about the end product, I’ll go after it. Shortened turn around time is a by-product of the times…so this should also be a little incentive for the surfer considering a custom.

Are quads declining or increasing in popularity?

We seem to be building quite a few. Some people are just getting around to trying them. Fin positioning is critical. There isn’t any magic formula. It’s more of a decision on how the rider wants the board to feel: more like a tri or more like a twin…or something in between. I made an asymmetrical (thank-you Carl Ekstrom) quad for a long hollow left I like to surf.

If it hasn’t already, will your surfboard production ever have to go overseas?

I respond to my customer’s feedback. The feedback is becoming louder and louder: “we need well designed, affordable product, with good margin, and we would prefer it to be a brand, not a label.” This does not mean we will stop making boards here. On the contrary, we will be able to spend more time and energy on real custom boards, creative projects, research and development.

What kind of music do you like to listen to when you shape?

I have very eclectic tastes…I have about 16,000 songs on my iPod. In addition I have XM and Pandora.com all hooked up in the room and my office.

How much time do you spend on a single board now?

As much as it takes to get it right.

Do you spend more time on the computer screen or in the shaping bay?

Computer, but I program at home and on trips as well. I still spend a fair amount of time in the room too. I use DSD, APS, and Shape 3D so it’s critical to see how all the different apps translate into cut foam.

How important is teamrider feedback to you?

Feedback is and always will be super important. Teamriders are an important part of product development. Shaun Tomson recently asked me this question: “is your best-selling model teamrider based? For that matter, any does any major manufacturer have a best-seller that is team rider based?” I think the answer points to the average surfer: a design that is user friendly for the everyday surfer. So feedback from the bros is just as important as the feedback from the pros.

What kind of board do you enjoy shaping most right now?

I enjoy my time in the room. The challenges…the stimulating stuff changes all the time.

How often do you get to surf?

Pretty much everyday.

Are you actively pursuing “greener” avenues in your surfboard production?

I’m a big fan of EPS/Epoxy. Is it greener? Compared to PU/PE, I’ve been told it is. We are developing a custom composite program. The process is probably a little greener still. I’ll be honest….my primary focus is on performance and value to the end consumer. If I can achieve that with “greener” materials and methods that it is a win-win.

BIG THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS AT SURFING MAGAZINE!

Rusty team rider Kevin Sullivan loves to tear Maui apart… Here’s proof!!!

The Rusty team is all over Australia’s Waves Magazine this month! In addition to Jay Davies splitting the cover with Slater, this issue also features the Rusty trip to the Menatwais where the team got some serious work done for the new Rusty surf flick, “Changes.” Jamie O’brien, Kalani Chapman, Merlon Gerber, Josh Kerr, Jayke Sharpe, and Jay Davies all have full page features! Find out more about the mag HERE!

Date of Birth: 12-23-58

Home Town: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Years Surfing: 38

Years Shaping: 30

Years with Rusty: 18

Approx. # of Boards Shaped: 40,000+

Best Surf Trip: San Carlos to go sailboarding, but there was no wind and the surf was going off!

Previous Labels: My own, “Hot Stick”

Hobbies: Jiu-jitsu

Favorite Type of Board to Shape: High performance shortboards

Least Favorite Board to Shape: Longboards

Favorite Boards from the Past: Twin Fins

Favorite Local Wave: Wind’n'Sea

Favorite Wave in the World: Tavarua

Travels: Peru, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Mexico, South Africa
Indonesia, Fiji, Australia, Mentawais

Future Travel Plans: Europe, Maldives, Galapagos

How did you get into Shaping?: In Australia I started as a helper for Emerald
Surfboards in Cronulla, Sydney

If I Wasn’t a Shaper: I would be teaching jiu-jitsu

Ten Year Plan: A farm in Costa Rica Beach Front

Photo: Brody