SIMON FORWARD
4D SURFBOARDS
June 9th, 2011
4D Surfboards’ shaper Simon Forward has been shaping boards for over 15 years and with his knowledge of board designs and the latest computer cutting technology. Simon shapes the majority of the Zak surfboard models.
20 QUESTIONS WITH SIMON FORWARD
| Years in the job? | 14 years shaping |
| How many boards have you made in that time? | about 6000 |
| What idea rises above all others when you re shaping / designing a board? | how its going to go when I go surfing on it |
| What s the golden rule of shaping (for you)? | keep it pretty simple ,theres no need to over complicate a surfboard |
| Describe your signature model at the moment? | quad flyer fish small wave board for waves up to 4-5 feet swallow tail with a small flyer and wider nose flatter rocker |
| What s your local break? | 13th beach |
| What s your inspiration for making the boards you make? | to be able to ride them myself and hopefully for them to perform the way I designed them to go and shape boards for customers and friends that help them enjoy there surfing |
| Have you ever thought about doing something else? | plenty of times, however then I wouldn’t be doing this which I enjoy |
| When was your last holiday? | metawiias boat trip in march 2011 |
| Favourite food? | my wifes nachos |
| Favourite TV show? | anything to do with football |
| Favourite colour? | blue |
| Favourite brew? | coffee in the morning |
| Your most memorable manoeuvre and where was it? | a good barrel anywhere always is a favourite |
| Do you recall the best board you ever made and what happened to it? | the quaddie that I have at the moment is probably my favourite and I still have it |
| How do you feel about the shift to Asian manufacturing by the larger players in the surfboard industry? | I don’t worry about it to much, surfers are always going to want reliable local service and to be able to talk directly to there local shaper about their board |
| Where would you like to be in 10 years? | hopefully still working and surfing around here in ocean grove with my family, if I can get my two daughters surfing by then |
| How do you feel about the professional surfing world tour? | its great to watch as they surf so good nowdays , I especially like watching surfing live on FUEL in the comfort of my loungeroom |
| What time do you go to bed? | 8.30 I have young kids |
| And what time do you get up? | 6.00 I have young kids |