Garrett Mcamara Interviewed by Grant at Sacred Craft Santa Cruz 2011

Grant Interviewed Garrett McNamara at Sacred Craft in Santa Cruz this past March! Garrett has been riding an Eco-Friendly tow board over the winter. The board is built with Marko EnviroFoam and Entropy Bio-Epoxy. As you will see Grant hit Garrett with all the hard hitting questions to get to the bottom of this cutting edge tow board! Thanks to Rey for the footage and editing.

Wandering Around The XXL Awards with Juan!

Every year the big wave surfing community comes together for the Billabong XXL Awards. This event acknowledges the best of the best and rewarding them handsomely for putting their lives on the line for the biggest tubes, the biggest wipe outs, and the best ride of their lives...so far! I was lucky enough to attend the event. The bar was great, the free monsters kept you jacked up the through the whole event, the sound and video made you feel like you were really a part of each wave! While walking around the venue you had ample opportunity to run into some true big wave legends as well as some other celebrity presenters such as; Doc Paskowitz, Jeff Clark, Mark Healy and his amazing leather tasseled jacket, UFC fighter Tito Ortiz, Playboy Bunnie and Miss April Jaclyn Swedberg and so many more. They were all completely accessible to the fans. This years event had it all, a live web cast, FUEL TV cameras and interviews, celebrity announcers and a few heart felt emotional moments in remembrance of those that we have lost over the last year. Everyone was choked up including main announcer Sal Masekela. The winners of the night included Keala Kennelly for Women's Performance Award, Sion Milosky won the Surfline Overall Performer Award along with multiple generous donations from his fellow award winners, Wipeout of the Year went to Mark Mathews, Biggest Wave Award given to Benjamin Sanchis, Monster Paddle went to Shane Dorian as well as claiming a new record for this 57ft wave and tube ride! The final award of the night went to Danilo Couto for his Ride of the Year at Jaws earning him 50 G's and a 1YR lease on a new truck! In summation, everyone got to see great waves ridden by the best, on huge screens, while chugging Monsters, surrounded by celebrities and tons of OC eye candy with soft undertones of loss and the celebration of life.

This is my account of the night..... Johnny Walters

Billabong XXL Awards Show Extravaganza

Big waves, big wipe outs, and big screens! That's basically the idea behind the Billabong XXL Awards that are going on this Friday, April 29th, at the Grove in Anaheim. It's a great time that brings the big wave community, and fans, together to watch the best big wave footage from the past year on a monster screen with huge sound so you can hear all of the bone crushing wipe outs. Oh yeah, they'll also award some maniac $50,000 for the best ride. If you can't attend, then check it out on Fuel TV, or watch the live web cast online. We'll be there so if you're lucky enough to attend then say hi!

Delve Fest This Saturday April 23rd!

Who likes FREE stuff? We like free stuff! We are going to be hanging out at the coolest food drive ever this Saturday, April 23rd at the Canvas Shop, 720 Marina Dr. in Seal Beach, sponsored by Delve clothing. All you have to do is show up at 7 p.m., bring 1, yes one, uno, can of food and you’re in! There is going to be live music, art, a showing of Stoked and Broke on a big screen, free Beer and Burgers...yipee.

After we fill our bellies we’re going to be doing a glassing demo on a 5’10” Fuse model surfboard with Tim Stamps of Stamps Surfboards and selling raffle tickets for said shred stick. Tickets for the surfboard raffle are only $10 and we’ll be drawing the winner at the party so you gotta be present to win. Don’t worry we’re not going to give you a half finished board, we’ll finish it and the winner can pick it up from the shop. Hope to see you all there.

OHANA DAY 2011 In Seal Beach This Saturday!!!

Come on down to the Seal Beach Pier this Saturday for Ohana Day, i'ts gonna be a great time. We will be set up giving out goodies and have some blanks/free shape time in the Box to raffle off! Many local surf businesses will be down there donating stuff to the raffle.

The day is sponsored by the Huntington and Seal Beach Surfrider chapters – brings out beach-goers for a day of fun for the family (translated to ohana in Hawaiian). And with Earth Day celebrated this weekend, it’s a perfect way to educate the youth on keeping beaches clean and safe.

It’s always a good time, with plenty of fun and educational booths set up on the sand. Last year, there was a sting ray exhibit where kids could pet the rays – don’t worry, the stingers were pulled out!

There’s also a demonstration by lifeguards and free surf lessons for the kids on a first come, first serve basis by M & M surf school, as well as skate ramps set up in the parking lot.

And there’s plenty of be raffled off, with proceeds benefiting Surfrider Foundation!

Hope to see you there.

Travis Potter Talks About Malaria And Chasing The Perfect Wave

Travis Potter began his surfing life like a lot of other young, aspiring Orange County grommets. It starts with a glimmer of talent, soon followed by local sponsorship, obligatory NSSA contests, then it’s a career bound for the World Qualifying Series. At 13 Travis was on the North Shore for his first winter, a ritual he’d maintain for the next 10 years. But at 15, he discovered Indonesia for the first time and was addicted immediately. When he does return home to Seal Beach, it’s only to say hi to Mom and Dad, bang some nails, lay a little tile and save up just enough money to get back as soon as possible.

In April of 2008 Travis contracted a potentially deadly strain of cerebral malaria while traveling through the Southeast Asian island chain of Papua New Guinea. He has since recovered and talks about his experience in the following video.

Quick Recap From Sacred Craft Santa Cruz!

Sacred Craft in Santa Cruz was a blast! If you’ve ever been to that town then you already know how cool it is and that coolness spilled over into the show. What the show lacked in international surf brands it made up for in local talent. It was a really great venue right smack dab in the middle of down town Santa Cruz and that energy carried through both days. If time permitted we could have had an encore and added a third day to the party. Cristina and I had a great time doing interviews, demos, and taking pictures. It was awesome meeting new people and seeing our NorCal customers faces. Ward Coffey won the Mike Marshall award for the closest representation to a Doug Haut Bump Model (from the 60's). You can check out some of the happenings from the show on our Facebook page. Look for my goofy little video promoting a great discount code we have going through the end of March.

We’ll see you at the next Sacred Craft in San Diego, where they’ll be honoring Carl Ekstrom for his super rad hats...or innovative surfboards, not sure which ones are wackier? Look for a full re-cap in our upcoming newsletter.

Reporting Live From Sacred Craft This Weekend!

This weekend, March 19^th-20^th, Sacred Craft will be taking over Santa Cruz and honoring shaper Doug Haut. Grant and Cristina will be at the show to bring you interviews, pics, and video throughout the days, so you don’t have to feel bad for missing the show! "Like us"on Facebook so you can follow us around the show throughout the two days. If you have any requests for content then send them to us on Facebook and we’ll try to oblige. If you’re going to be at the show then look for us and say “hi”. We’ll have some freebies that we want to get rid of so we don’t have to lug them around both days. See you there…or in CYBERSPACE!!!

Adler Paddler - A Great Way To Celebrate A Great Man!

So it's been just over a year since our buddy Steve Adler passed away and it's time for a memorial event. It's aptly named the "Adler Paddler" and it's happening this Sunday March 20th. Steve loved the sport of stand up paddling and this will be a free event open for both experienced and novice paddlers, in hopes to get people out together enjoying this great sport.

The other main purpose of this event will be to raise funds for Clark Adler's (Steve's son) college fund through sales of event T-Shirts and an amazing raffle. We will also use this event as a platform to raise awareness and educate people about Ascending Aortic Aneurysms. Also Amy Yasbeck of the John Ritter Foundation will be at the event! She is going to do a book signing with all proceeds to go towards the John Ritter Foundation & the John Ritter Research Foundation. The Thoracic Aortic Disease Coalition will be providing some educational information for the event.

So come on out for a fun or serious race around Naples island. Just under 3 miles. Bring down your paddle board, prone, or stand up, or borrow one from a friend. If you don’t have a board we will have a limited amount of boards and paddles to rent on site for a donation to the cause.

When: March 20th 2011 / 9am for a 10am start

Where: Leeway Beach/Belmont Shores/ Long Beach/ Ca

What: Fun/Stroll for a good cause or Race/ for a good cause/ Just under 3 miles around Naples island

For more info check the Facebook page or www.paddlewithpurpose.com .

See you there!

Waterman's Guild, A True Old School Glass Shop!

Ever thought about it? When you place your order, what happens next? Where exactly does that order form go? Who are the guys behind the scene that make it happen? This is the place, these are the guys. Waterman's Guild is located in Santa Ana, Ca and has been glassing boards since 1983. Specializing in color lamination, Waterman's has a reputation among professional surfers and shapers as the premier glass shop in California. Shapers like Almond Surfboards, Matt Barker, Fineline, Gato Heroi, Randy Gibbs, The Greek, Gtec, Harbour, Hobie, Hurley, Bruce Jones, Matt Moore, Jed & Greg Noll, Jerry O'Keefe, Sonny Vardeman, and Dewey Weber have been coming to the Waterman's Guild for years to have their shapes waterproofed.



For over twenty-five years they have done all phases of production for the biggest names in the industry. Because of this expertise they are also called upon by collectors to do restoration of classics and flawless ding repair. All work is done in house by Greg Martz (owner) and his long time crew.

Thanks to Brock Jones for the cool video!

The Real Entropy Interview With Rey!

We at Foam E-Z want to spread the good word about Entropy. They're producing high-quality Bio-Resins and Epoxy at competitive prices along with a great carbon footprint savings.

We spent an afternoon at their warehouse and laboratory and here is what we learned.

Also, check out this skit "Bio-Resin: Not for Eating"

Citrus Shapes - Cool article off Korduroy.TV

Citrus Shapes

Daniel and Curtis are two childhood buddies who grew up surfing San-O, Church, and Lowers together. At 23 years old, fresh out of college, and into the “real world,” the two got inspired and decided to make their own shaping room…and they got all their materials for FREE! Here’s there story:

First off, what was the inspiration behind the “free” shaping room?

We were inspired by our buddy who is a shaper in Morocco. He taught himself how to shape by watching a video and now he makes boards for professional Moroccan surfers. He started running his business with a low budget and he had to get creative due to lack of resources. This showed us that quality/creative boards can be produced if the effort is willing to be put forth, even on a low budget.
Where did you manage to get all of the materials for free? Who donated the land space?

The supplies for the shaping tent were an accumulation of generous people and getting creative with our resources. It started with needing a roof over our heads. We didn’t know where to even begin, but realized that we needed something because it was November and if anything was going to happen in the middle of winter it had to be done in some sort of shelter. Daniel’s dad, Randy, had generously offered us an old outfitter’s tent that he and Daniel used to take camping every year. It is 20 x 16 feet, so we figured that would be plenty of space. Then we needed a place to set up shop, so Curtis’ dad, Rick, generously offered us a place to build our tent… not sure how pumped his mom is on the huge eyesore in her backyard now. Then the floor was built off of old pallets donated from Daniel’s old plumbing boss and the lights from his pops. Lastly, a majority of our tools were given to us by a family friend, Stan, who has shaped in the past. Stan also gave us tons of advice in getting started, he is a man to be listened to because of his expertise in building sail boats. So everything needed for the shop was free… HUGE!

Seems like a pretty cozy situation with a fireplace and all. Where did you get the idea for adding in a fireplace? Any other unique features of your setup?

Yeah we needed to keep it cozy and we figured that it would help us stay warm in the middle of winter. It keeps things a little interesting due to the fact that we are working with flammable chemicals with a blazing fire, all inside a small tent. But it’s all good!

How long did it take you to put everything together?

We were able to build the whole thing in a couple of days thanks to Curtis’ dad. He saved us hours of backbreaking work by leveling the dirt out with his tractor. Then the tent took us about 30 min to set up, the floor took a day, the racks a couple of hours, and presto, the Shred Shed was born!

How many boards have you made so far? What kind of boards?

We have each made one so far and have started another. The first boards were both 5’8” single-fins. We decided to do massive diamond tails. Curtis did a slight v-bottom and Daniel wanted to keep it as flat as possible to see how much speed he could get. We are just wanting to build the boards that we imagine in our heads. We are excited about experimenting with unique shapes and having fun riding them.

Where would you suggest one to look when wanting to learn how to shape, build their own shaping room, etc.?

Just be honest with people about how little you actually know and ask questions. What helped us out was talking with guys that had experience. People were pumped on our ideas and our desire to make different types of shapes, so they would give us as much advice as we wanted. We also must give credit to JC and “Shaping 101.” A must for anyone starting out. A huge help came from the videos that you, Korduroy, shared with us: Shaping Room, Shaping Blocks, etc. Lastly, find a best bud to share the experience with!

What do you find to be the most difficult part of shaping? What about the difficulties of glassing?

The hardest part of shaping is staying clean… the stuff gets everywhere! Also with our first boards we wanted to take our time so we used no power tools. When we finished shaping we had some serious arm-pump from the surforms.

As for glassing, is like working with a time bomb, before you know it it’s too late. Most of the frustrations came in this part of the process. What you thought was a great shape can turn into a disaster within a blink of an eye. It was a fun process and we learned a ton from it. It is amazing how much detail is involved to get a perfect glass job.


What has been your favorite step of the process…besides surfing the final product?

There were so many nights where we both didn’t want to close up shop because we were so pumped on how things were turning out. Every step of shaping gave us so much stoke because we were seeing this ugly block of foam begin to turn into something that looked like a surfboard. This started out as a project to see what we could create, little did we know how much fun we would have with it!

Do you feel like you have found a new hobby to take serious or is it just something for fun every now and again?

We have fallen in love and are actually planning on building many more boards. Between the two of us there are so many things we would love to shape, it is just hard trying to figure out what will be next. Right now we are starting to work on some shapes for a trip to Costa Rica. For now we are stoked on shaping our own boards, but who knows what might happen in the future.

Do you have a name for this project?

Yup, the name is Citrus. We decided on this name for two reasons. One, we are shaping in the middle of orange groves and two, we hope this project produces some good fruit for all enjoy and take part in.

For anyone that is interesting in following us on this adventure, check out our blog at www.citrusshapes.com or Facebook.

Also, if you have any questions about what we are doing or just want to drop a line and say hey, email us at citrusshapes@gmail.com

Thanks Korduroy for all the help. Keep the stoke coming!!!

Entropy Resins - Don't Drink It!!!

I'm scared to post this little teaser video we did with Rey Benatao of Entropy Bio-Resins but here we go!

I didn't do the camera work, it was on a tri-pod i think!

Enjoy Brad



Look for the full interview coming up in the March Newsletter. Everything you want to know about this Bio-Epoxy and everything you don't want to know about Grant! Just don't drink it.

John Peck - The Penetrator Breaking On Through To The Other Side!

Thanks to the guys at Korduroy.TV for putting together this awesome video of John Peck. It is a great representation of John, a man who has always lived on his own terms. We first met John Peck back around 1994 when he came into Foam E-Z to buy a blank for the Penetrator he wanted to make at the time. He since visits the shop from time to time get a blank or a tool. Each time he shows up he exudes an incredible sense of peace about himself. Anyone who has met him will know what I am talking about.

From being credited as the first to surf real Pipeline in 1963, to one of the most extreme proponents of mind-altering substances in the psychedelic seventies, John Peck has always been exploring the boundaries of his existence. He has been exploring ways to optimally ride waves for over 5 decades and it's this research that has lead him to refine his Penetrator longboard design. In this episode of Korduroy's All Yew series, we learn about the evolution of the Penetrator and how John approaches the board creation process.

Ole Surfboards - A True Legend!

The 80-year-old Lahaina resident was inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame December 2009 at Doheny State Beach.

''I'm pretty honored by the whole thing,'' Olson said. ''I've been doing it for a long time. I started shaping in 1956.''

Olson was a wood shop teacher at Ranchos Alamitos High School in Garden Grove, Calif., when he first got interested in building surfboards. While he was still teaching, Olson opened a surfboard shop.

''I would shape boards after school, sometimes at night, and on the weekends,'' Olson said. ''Everyone was talking about surfing back in the early 60's, it was new.''

''Back then you could sell them a two-by-four with a one-by for a fin,'' he added with a laugh.

Olson took a teaching leave of absence in 1971 to visit Maui and made the Valley Isle his permanent home. He still surfs his favorite spot, Mala Wharf.

Olson is the fifth surfboard builder from Hawaii to be inducted into the SBHF, joining the father of modern surfing, Duke Kahanamoku, and Oahu's Rabbit Kekai, Ben Aipa and Barry Kanaiaupuni.

Inductees are selected by current members of the SBHF. Olson was selected by Phil Edwards, a noted surfing pioneer and shaper for Hobie Surfboards.

''Ole is the oldest-living board builder that is still making boards. It's great these guys get recognized. When these guys are gone, they take a lot of surf history with them.''

Bruce Jones, Some Serious Experience!

Bruce Jones has built premium surfboards for three decades. The company, renowned worldwide for its products, was founded by Bruce in 1973 after he shaped surfboards for many years with some of the biggest surfing names in the sport: Hobie, Gordie, and Brewer to name a few.

Bruce was there at Hobie's, during the golden age of the mid 1960's, when the best shaping talent in surfing history was gathered in one place: Phil Edwards, Dale Velzy, Terry Martin, John Gray and Ralph Parker, among others. Starting in the gluing department, Bruce worked his way into rough shaping, then into the actual shaping room and lost no time in getting help from everyone involved in shaping surfboards. In the mid to late 60's, Bruce moved to Huntington Beach, California where he shaped for Vardeman Surfboards, doing all the Jackie Baxter Models, which to this day are considered rare collector's items, being the first board on the west coast to combine the low tail rails of the Hawaiian Gun (for speed), with a refined longboard outline and eventually a turned down, flat-bottom nose for superb nose riding (influenced by the famous Morey/Pope John Peck Penetrator model).

At night, Bruce would shape surfboards for Gordie Surfboards. Gordie (Gordon Duane) had a reputation for being a superb craftsman but very hard to get along with. Bruce put up with him and learned some of Gordie's shaping techniques and most of all his dedication to perfection through using these techniques. Bruce did a short stint with Dick Brewer in '69, ghost shaping surfboards for him on Maui. He then went on to shape for Russell Surfboards, Newport Beach, and then Ole Surfboards in Sunset Beach, California from where he launched his own business. Bruce has made a number of surfboard blank molds for Clark Foam and most recently for US Blanks.



Enjoy this great little video with Bruce Jones shaping and designing filmed and edited by his son Brock.

Round 2 - Bettis Shapes Up An Orange Foam from US Blanks!

Round 2!!! We had Matt Bettis give the Orange Foam from US Blanks a whirl. The more shapes the better when it comes to R & D on a new blank. This time we got some better audio and video equipment so we don't look as ghetto...still ghetto but with a touch of class! Anyways, the foam is looking solid so check it out and listen to what Matt had to say about the blank. We'd like to thank Matt for donating his time and expertise in the name of research.

Foam E-Z and Matt Bettis shape a US Blanks Orange Foam from grant ramey on Vimeo.

The Inside Scoop at Quik!!!

Is Dane sponsor shopping? There's been some big changes at Quiksilver in recent months. Kelly won 10, Julian went to Nike, Steph joined the team. We sat down with surf team manager Chad Wells to get the inside scoop. Check the video!

A big thanks goes out to David Scales of 1HourinHB.com for filming and editing this video.

Let us know what if you think Kelly will come back for another year, if Dane will jump ship, and how you feel about Julian's departure.

Foam E-Z Takes A Quik Fieldtrip!

We took a field trip the other day to the Quiksilver headquarters in Huntington Beach, CA and sat down with team manager Chad Wells to get some inside info on Slater, Julian, and Steph. It’s been a pretty wild couple months for the crew over at Quik. Slater won #10, Julian took off to join Nike 6.0, Steph Gilmore signed to Women’s Quiksilver (not Roxy), Dane is Dane, and we’re not sure if Slater is coming back for the 2011 WCT season….and there is plenty more. That’s just a little sampling of what’s to come in the Foam E-Z February Newsletter.


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2 Hours In HB With Simpo And All The Other Local HB Rippers!

These guys are amazing! They absolutely tear up the waves flicking airs whenever possible. Boy how surfing has changed in recent years. This crew (Brett Simpson, Shaun Ward, Ted Navarro, Derek Peters, Billy Hopkins) of local pros are all from the HB area riding boards from local shapers like Tim Stamps and Mike Ward. Thanks to David Scales of 1HOURinHB for the killer footage.