THE NEW MILLENNIALS: Surfing's Post Modern Era Has Arrived

The future of boards?

“Rubber.”—Kai Barger

“Every generation thinks boards won’t change much, but they always do. I’m not entirely sure where they’re going, but I won’t be surprised if boards go shorter than they are today. It makes sense considering where we’re trying to go. You can get what you need out of a board in a more compact space.”—Andrew Doheny

“I can’t spill the beans, but Channel Islands has been including us in on a lot of their progressive materials and it’s crazy stuff. They had Burton bring in their science team to create and improve things. I think lighter boards will allow for lofty airs and swifter transition speeds and turning ability. Look at Taj Burrow. He’s a freak on the Firewire. It looks as though that board is actually pushing him to new levels. He gets speed from places others wouldn’t, and is able to sling in and out of turns and airs all the same. Some hate on it, saying it’s not the board, it’s just Taj, that he would kill it on anything, and maybe he would. But what if it’s a combo of his ability and the new materials that he is riding allowing for progression to take place? I think it is.” — Patrick Gudauskas

“I can see some real potential with the parabolics, but I’ve been breaking them too fast to say what it is.”—Dane Reynolds

“I don’t think the designs will change, but the materials might, maybe more user friendly and a bit less toxic I hope.”—Jay Thompson

The next Slater?

“Carissa Moore, isn’t she?”—Stephanie Gilmore

What’s style?

“It’s that thing that defines your surfing. When I’m sitting around watching videos with my friends, all we talk about is style.”—Blake Jones

“Style is how smooth and fluid someone surfs and the things they do to set themselves apart from everyone else.”—Garrett Parkes

“I never think about style. I just like to throw hard, especially in the critical part of the wave.”—Clay Marzo

“It’s about making the hard look easy. Good style is the bare minimum. All natural. Only moving when you need to. That will always be the case.”—Dane Reynolds