Introducing Fireside Chats. Long-form conversations on board design, surfing’s past, and the people pushing it all forward. Our first sit-down features @ellisericson tracing his path from Dad’s factory floors to contest surfing and eventually old displacement hulls, transitional shapes, and a deeper understanding of how surfboards actually work. What started as burnout from competitive surfing turned into a deep passion for design, feel, and the relationship between surfboard, fins, and wave face. Ellis goes deep! Full film now live on YouTube. Link in bio.

Les shapes de @ellisericson sont bien arrivés à Marennes 🇫🇷 Pour ceux qui ont commandé une board, elles vont bientôt être stratifiées donc surveillez votre boîte aux lettres 📬 ! Pour ceux qui aimeraient malgré tout se procurer une planche du récent vainqueur du Stab EAST, passez nous voir au shop prochainement ! 🤙 #shapersclub #shapersclubhouse #ellisericson

Last three months have been a blur , Feels Wild to be handshaping in 2026 but here I am loving by minute of it and wouldn’t change a thing. Boards are turning out better than ever and just wanted to everyone for the support, patience and commitment to my designs. @ridesurfandsport @shapersclub @pilgrimsurfsupply @thaliasurf @wildthingsgallery @keelsurfsupply @dessa_store @goldenstateglassing

Caught out with Steve Shearer for an interview the other day on @swellnet . Current snapshot of where I’m at with building boards, life and continue edge boards pursuits. big thanks to Steve and @stunet for taking the time to compile my ramblings an the interesting questions. Head over to the site for a full read or click the link in story’s.

LITE WHITE MIKE KITE I’ve been exploring new materials and glassing techniques lately, testing different constructions and collaborating on something special with @roosterbrand and @colanaustralia - more to come in this space but so far flex on these stringless builds feels really positive and the added strength is a bonus. These boards are coming in at around 2.7 kg with quad fins (200grams) and the glasswork is holding up exceptionally well. Aiming to strike the perfect balance between performance and durability. If I’m gonna make them, they’ve got a last but they’ve also got it perform – such a fine line and just feel like the epoxy lends itself so well to this domain. I feel like we are in the midst of the next shortboard revolution and I can’t wait to see what the future holds both in the backyard and industry as a whole. Fucking pumped! These Four of these boards recently landed at @wildthingsgallery . I believe two may have sold already, but you can contact them for all the specific details. These four are based on the replica Mikey rode in the East project, with dimensions ranging from 5’10” to 6’2”, widths between 19” to 20 1/2”, and varying thicknesses. All four boards come with the new Ericson feathers quad by @true_ames 10O% HOTWIRED + HANDSHAPED with majority of the excess foam waste recycled.

This one’s been in the work since the @ontheedgeofadream_ days, powering on with Greenough concepts into the multi fin universe: introducing ‘Feathers’ by Ericson. Elliptical template for maximum lift, interior concave for enhance laminar flow. Speed to burn on every turn, 4 fins designed to fly. Fins and full clip Available exclusively via @true_ames website. Edit @luka.r_films Song by @blistar.u

Sneak peak of my latest prototype in the new @wildthingsgallery ‘Wild Life’ film. 5’11 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 ‘Paper Plane. Edge pursuits, Kite contours and a lot of history from some of my father’s designs in the early 80’s. More to come. Wildlife film is screening up and down the east coast these next few weeks. Swipe Right for locations / Dates. Music by: @r.m.f.c.fanclub

@josiah_amico flying a 5’6 x 20 1/2 x 2 1/2 Kite at Rincon recently - really nice approach and good blend of performance and flow. So many activation points with the Contours and quads, looks like Josiah clicking all the right buttons. Thanks to @tmothersdome to sharing the Kites around. @natecox.co on the 🎥

E.A.S.T Win and a few weeks in the aftermath. Took some time to take it all in, throw the phone away, go surf and get back in the bay. Just wanted to say a huge thanks to @mikeyfebruary @stab @anothery for pulling off such an epic project , so many talented new shapers coming through and I’m so fired up on the 2nd short board revolution happening right now. See ya in 2026 ✌️

The first surfboard to snap in two and still win EAST is…. “The Lite Kite” by the Australia’s @ellisericson beat 16 surfboards in our most contested experiment yet. Read about our 36-year-old champion who makes his own blanks at the link in bio.

🇯🇵 🇯🇵 🇯🇵 @true_ames film event tomorrow night @ridesurfandsport Japan. There will be Question time with @chuckfoils , True Ames films plus I’ll be sharing some new footage and recent biopic by @keelsurfsupply . All movies will have Japanese translation so please enjoy 🇯🇵 See you tomorrow night @ridesurfandsport , Hachioji. 🙏

Reduce and Reuse , sometimes broken boards just feel better. @mikeyfebruary flying a wounded kite into the final 4 in @stab latest EAST episode , live on the site now. Master glass job and ding repair by @elixirsurfboards