Rusty

Dustin Fiero is coming to the end of his first boatman stint on Tavarua, one of the most sought after gigs in the industry, so we decided to check in with him and see how it went…

Age: 21
Home Town: San Diego
Travels: Tavarua, Mexico, Hawaii
Sponsors: Rusty, DC, Watermans, DaKine, Dragon, Futures, Uni Butter

How do  you spend a typical day as a Tavarua boatman?

I wake up at 5:30am, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, take a surf boat out to Cloudbreak, eat again, hang out at the boat shed and make sure all is well, clean the boats, eat again, fillet fish, and do it again the next day…

How did you the land the coveted gig as “boatman”?

I cam out to Tavarua for the first time with Bird when I was 16.  I expressed interest in becoming a boatman and found out what I had to do to make it happen.  Over the course of the next five years I obtained my EMT certification, Ocean Life guarding certification, PWC certification and I was super persistent in following through with the management.

What was your scariest moment on Tavarua?

Just the other day a guest was surfing Restaurants and his board nailed him in the back.  He couldn’t walk when he got to the beach and he was screaming in pain.  We had pulled him onto a stretcher and took him to the infirmary for evaluation.  It turns out he broke a vertebrae.

What is your most fond memory on Tavarua?

Hanging out with the staff and the other boatmen is great.  We laugh a lot and have a great camaraderie between us.

What are you future plans?

I am going to keep life guarding in San Diego and, hopefully, return as a boatman to Tavarua on a regular basis.

What boards did you bring on your first boatman’s stint?

6′6″ Traveler round tail

6′2″ Redline round tail

5′11″ GTR round tail quad

5′11″ GTR round tail thruster

5′9″ Hipster quad

What board do you find yourself riding the most?

The 5′11″ GTR quad shaped by Hamon works so good! It’s fast, responsive, and rides the barrel really good!

What other activities do you do on the island?

I spend most of my time fishing, free diving, and training.

Photos and Interview: Brody

Jayke Sharp makes the most of a rainy day by putting his Rusty Redline to the test in some chunky beach break surf on Australia’s East Coast…

Photos: Brody

Check out some pictures of Rusty rider Kris Hopkins shredding the Kompressor, Redline and Bat Tail Quad.

Kompressor

Bat Tail Quad

Photo: Billy & Ruthi

Photo: G.W. Richard

Redline

Photo: Devillier

Click here to watch some video from the event…

The weekend started with an early am drive to El Porto in Manhattan Beach for the “Seaslug” division of the Volcom Crusty Tour. Jay took down all 48 surfers in his division resulting his first BIG WIN in the Volcom series as well as a monster haul of swag that included a sweet bike, shoes, watch, fins, and more. The win also locked up Jay’s spot in the National Finals for the series. Sunday found Jay at Oceanside for the 4th event of the WSA series where Jay surfed out of his mind from the first horn, dropping a 7.5 on his first wave and backing it up with a 10 to secure his highest heat total to date- a 17.5. Jay finished in 2nd in U14, and killed the bigger boys, taking a 3rd from the U16 crew. Great weekend of surfing for Jay!

Rusty Team rider, Matt Beacham, spends nine months a year on the road filming for the Fuel TV show “New Pollution”. When Matt comes home to San Diego he is usually in and out: he’ll be home for a day or two, sometimes a week if he’s lucky, and then he’ll have to head off to the next filming destination. Needless to say, it is rare that Matt returns home to San Diego and there is solid swell in the water. Well, this time he got lucky…

Beacham shredding on his Rusty Redline…

Photos: Brody

13 year old Jay Christienson started riding Rusty Surfboards a few months ago and has been amping on his favorite board model - the Rusty Redline. However, he proved that is not the only board he can properly shred on because he recently won the 16 and Under division at the Rusty Boardhouse “Any-Board Challenge,” where he surfed five different random boards over the course of nine heats.

“I love my family! Love Our Oceans and Respect Mother Nature.”

Sponsors: Rusy Surfboards, Southcoast Windansea Surf Shop, FCS, Gorilla Grip, Headhunter, Hemp Hoodlamp, RVCA, Nixon, and Taco Surf

Contests: NSSA South West Conference ,Surfing America Prime, WSA, Sun Diego / Monster Energy Pro-Am Surf Series, Volcom Stone’s Crustaceous Tour, Rusty/SD Summer Series, Ripcurl Grom Search, Occy Grom Comp, Revolt Summer Series, YMCA Surf Series, Windansea Menehuene, Sunset Cliffs Gromfest, Jetty Kids Kontest & LaJolla Shores Surf Assoc. Menehuene, MSA Classic, Wildcoast Dempsey Holder & The Rob Machado Experience

Other Hobbies: I play baseball for the Mission Bay Little League, silk-screen custom “T’s” with artist and mentor Bryce @ Modele, and I skate everywhere I go - mostly cruisers, but I trick in parks too.

Click below to have a look at a video clip from Jay’s NSSA double header this past weekend:

Bio
Shift your Redline into overdrive with our unique parabolic stringer construction. This board is tuned up for more speed, drive and return on rail surfing.

Specs
The parabolic stringers move the center point of flex off the stringer, allowing for both rails to torque independently and ultimately create a board that loads harder off the bottom and springs faster into action.

Popular Dimensions:
5′8″ x 17 3/4″ x 2″

5′10″ x 18 1/8″ x 2 1/16″

6′0″ x 18 3/16″ x 2 1/8″

6′1″ x 18 1/4″ x 2 1/4″

6′2″ x 18 1/2″ x 2 3/8″

*Custom dimensions always available*

“Strictly parabolic boards for me from now on… They load up so much more for cutbacks and bottom turns, it is almost like a spring board when your coming out of turns. It is definitely a different feel than a straight stringer. Everyone should try one!”
-Rick Takahashi

Video: Brian Mulvihill

Check out some footage of this awesome grom who captured first place in NSSA Explorer Boys Southwestern Conference!