SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers July 2014 lo-res - free to read | Page 53

Talk to us about your
supporters – Fanatic
International and ION – how
did their sponsorship come
about and what do you have to
do for them?
I was actually paddling around in good surf
at Gwithian filming for my friend Ol Beach,
lead singer of Yellowire. It was for the
Mercury Phoenix Trust and I was dressed as
Freddie Mercury, Wembley ’86, red piping
on the trousers, buckled yellow jacket and
duct tape moustache. The surfers must
have be spun out by the whole thing, or at
least thought it was a piss take. Anyhow the
surf was pumping and I was snagging a few
waves, one of which was good enough for
the moustache to take flight. Ant Baker was
on the beach and seemed impressed. He put
me in touch with his brother Nik who is
distributor for the UK and I’ve been with
them ever since. So a huge thank you to
Ant, Nik and Ollie. (I still wear the Freddie
outfit sometimes).

rather than a shaper. For sure it’s a shortcut
compared to pre-computer shaping but the
hard fact is that the numbers are the
numbers and if they work then the machine
will make a more consistently functional
board than by hand. However Fanatic have
guys like Luke Egan, Kyron Rathbone and
Belar Diaz on the team so they’re not
wanting for expert product analysis.

I don’t view my relationship with Fanatic
(ION or Volkan Watches) as sponsorship. It’s
really a form of employment. Clearly the
younger team members bring the highest
levels of performance, or innovation, to the
team but I think that with the older guys
there’s some heritage – a j