Tell us a bit about your background...where did you grow up and your first bodyboard influences?

I grew up in Woonona, on the N.S.W. South Coast. My dad was a real keen surfer and he got me in the water pretty young. My fondest childhood memories are spending days at the beach with the family and surfing with my dad and brother. When I started high school I started to go down south a bit more and made good friends in the Beach Street bodyboard club. I would always be surfing in the juniors with Michael Chapple and Korrey Smith and we would be in awe of some of the opens surfing in the club, dudes like Greg McCafferty, Grahame Miller, Luke Miller and Peter Geraghty. Seeing the older guys rip and got shots in mags got us so keen to do the same. Since those days Bodyboarding has been a major part of my day to day life.

When did you first become involved in the manufacturing side of Bodyboarding?

I started at Manta in January 2000. Just a fresh face grom eager to learn as much as I could. Ha ha, I

Today your head shaper for 4Play. Shaping 4Play Customs and shaping for riders such as Damian King, Dallas Singer and Ryan Mattick. Is shaping Customs a rewarding job for you?

Yeah for sure, I love seeing the team riders ripping on my creations. It gets me stoked to see them scoring good shots. Dallas’s last few covers have definitely been highlights. I still get equally as stoked seeing someone just having fun on a 4Play Custom or even a 4Play stock board. When you have a good board you can enjoy your surfing so much more.

Who is the most demanding rider you have shaped for when it comes to design?

Kingy can get pretty pedantic about his concave, but it’s good I like the challenge. I love shaping for any of the guys that show interest in their boards, they come in the bay and we work through the boards together to get them perfect.

Who did you learn the basics of shaping from?

I learnt the basics from the guy’s shaping at Manta when I started. The Flemmings and Adrian Duff. As soon as I learnt the basics I was keen to put my own spin on my style. It’s great shaping here at 4Play I get to play around with templates and materials to constantly keep innovative.

4Play has some new board design features.care to reveal them?

We have the “I Mesh” going on. It basically sits the mesh in between the substrate and the Surlyn as opposed to the old style mesh that sits between the core and the substrate. The “I mesh” brings the mesh closer to the surface which adds strength and gives a much better lamination.

FTC Stringers. It’s a standard carbon fibre stringer at the base and the top 6” is a PVC insert that is drilled out and has a spring encased. It gives a spring loaded snap back effect around the elbows for high performance Bodyboarding.

CCT. The Combination Core Technology is fusing both PP and Dow cores together. PP at base for strength and drive and Dow at the nose for scooping. I really don’t think any other core compares to it.

Are you working on anything new?

I am always brain storming trying to come out with something new. Lately I have been trying different stringer placements and weighting stringers. Also playing around with different ways in fusing PP and Dow together. Hopefully in the next 5 years we will see a lot more innovations come through.

Whats the best thing about being a shaper?

Being involved in an industry that I love. When I was a kid I wanted to be a professional bodyboarder, when I realized that wasn’t going to happen I thought shaping would be the next best thing. There are so many cool, creative and interesting cats in Bodyboarding and it’s rad to be a part of the whole thing. Not just the riders but photographers, videographers, magazines, contests organizers and industry people are all bonded by a passion for the sport and there isn’t a great deal of ego involved like stand up surfing. It’s pretty special shaping your own boards too.

The least rewarding ?

The fucking dust. I am always covered in foam dust and wearing dust masks. Apart from that it’s all good.

Where are boards heading in the future.What can we expect to come out of the 4 play factory this year?

Too the moon! Ha ha, I honestly think boards are going to step up a lot in the coming years. Shapes and materials are the most important things. Colors, graphics and contours are all good but I think the real evolution is in the cores and shapes. Hopefully I can come out with a core that is high performance and longer lasting than the current cores on the market.

Goals?

To be creative and innovative in board design and deliver boards people are amped to ride. Also shape boards that are going to take my riders to the next level in performance Bodyboarding.

Last say.

Thanks to the crew who ride our boards and get stoked on the whole Bodyboarding lifestyle.

-Reon.