Firewire might just make the most recognisable surfboards in the world. This isn’t necessarily reflective of popularity – though there are plenty of surfers who swear by these boards. Instead, their distinguishable nature comes more from their aesthetics. If you’ve ever seen a board out in the lineup that looks like it was carved directly from a tree, it was most likely a Firewire. This wooden aesthetic makes these boards stick out like a sore thumb (but a good sore thumb), though they also make plenty of boards with a more traditional appearance, something which they’ve been doing under various names for close to 50 years.
History
Though the Firewire name has only been established, the brand itself has actually been around for a long time. It was initially founded way back in 1975 by Australian Shaper Nev Hyman in Perth, initially under the name Odyssey Surfboards, but that name lasted just six years before it was changed to Nev Surfboards in 1981. A few years later, Hyman developed an interest in computer shaping, and this interest in pushing new methods of surfboard construction ultimately led to the development of the Firewire era of the brand, which began in 2006.
So what’s different about Firewire boards?
When the Firewire name first dropped in 2006, they became the first global surfboard manufacturer to construct their board using entirely EPS/Epoxy construction, and since then they have continued to pioneer innovative ways to produce surfboards. Without getting too deep into the nitty-gritty of their construction methods, they are renowned for the durability of their boards, something which goes hand in hand with their strong commitment to sustainability. They also claim that the way they produce their boards has significantly less impact on the environment, with the construction of traditional polyurethane boards producing roughly 50 times more volatile organic compounds than the construction of Firewire boards.
Incidentally, the one and only Kelly Slater also has a fairly significant hand in the above process. In 2016, ten years after Firewire officially began, he bought a significant stake in the company – 70%, to be exact. Just prior to that news dropping, he spoke to Stab Magazine about “the irony to all of our environmental talk and chemical walk”, that “lessening materials impact is an obligation for me”, and that “my partners and I are working on something”. Soon after, his purchase of a majority share of Firewire became public news, so it’s safe to say his involvement in the company is scratching that environmental itch.
Who rides them?
The Firewire team doesn’t have the level of household names as some other major brands, but there are still have plenty of well-known surfers sponsored by the company. Kelly Slater, of course, is a major ambassador, even if his name is spelt Kelly Salter on their website and sits more in the category of owner of the entire business rather than sponsored surfer. Rob Machado is another massive name riding Firewires, while the Tahitian barrel-lover Michel Bourez represents them on the Championship Tour. Firewire also sponsors a number of talented young surfers, perhaps the most notable among them being Jackson Dorian, son of former CT surfer and current crazy big wave surfer Shane.
Firewire boards
Firewire produces a huge range of different boards. They’ve got shortboards, mid-lengths and longboards, each of which has a wide selection of different shapes, tails and optimal fin set-ups. They also produce kiteboards, but for the purpose of keeping this to a reasonable word count we’ll just take a look at some of the better known surfboards they produce.
- Firewire Greedy Beaver: The Greedy Beaver is one of the more iconic Firewire boards out there, boasting the aforementioned aesthetic which makes many of this brand’s boards so recognisable. With a big fat nose and a rounded tail which more resembles a longboard shape than the short length you’ll be surfing, the Greedy Beaver has some serious paddle power. There’s plenty of volume in it – as an example, a 6’0” version of this comes in at 37.5 litres – but it’s still got plenty of manoeuvrability, making it a good board in a wide range of conditions.
- Firewire FRK: There’s a great story about how the FRK came into existence. It all started in 2015, when Dan Mann was asked to shape Kelly Slater a board. That board was the FRK. It sat un-surfed in Kelly’s shed for a couple of years, but eventually he took it out at Trestles and loved it, and has since ridden it in tournaments around the world. Obviously this is a high-performance board, certainly much more so than the Greedy Beaver, but while it may not make you surf like Kelly Slater it does make for some pretty damn good fun.
- Firewire Sweet Potato: Now to a wave with a little, or a lot, more girth. The Sweet Potato is named as such presumably because its shape closely resembles that of one of our favourite root vegetables, and like an actual sweet potato there is plenty of weight squeezed into a relatively small amount of space. A six-footer comes in at a whopping 49 litres, so you know that this thing is a wave catching machine. It’s designed with the intention of enabling surfers to head out in waves which would typically require a longboard, without a longboard, but the design makes it feel a lot more narrow than it really is, and gives it plenty of speed and drive.
- Firewire Seaside: The Seaside is an evolution of the popular Go Fish board, which is renowned for its loose and skatey feel. This maintains a similar sensation but with a bit of a narrowing of the nose and tail, making it a little more rippable than its predecessor. The Seaside has a fish tail and a quad-only setup, and makes for a great time in weaker waves up to around five-foot, or much smaller heavier ones.
As the above shows, Firewire produces a pretty diverse range of different boards. They’re accessible for all levels of surfers, from your local learner through to, well, Kelly Slater, and many of their boards can individually be surfed in a wide range of conditions. A commitment to sustainability is a bonus, as is the durability for which these boards are renowned, and all of this ensures that the Firewire range is definitely worth a look when you next add to your quiver.
