Welcome back to Hang 10 with Birdie, where we catch up with friends Birdwell has made along the way, in and out of the water. This week we’re in the workshop of Australian shaper Luke Daniels of Daniels Surfboards. Growing up on the country’s North Coast with Bronte Beach just outside his door and Bondi only a few miles away, Daniels is no stranger to the waves. It’s not just proximity to the coast fueling his passion, surfing and shaping are also in his DNA. With guidance from his grandfather and father — who briefly studied shaping under Bob McTavish and still properly rips — Luke shaped his first board and his carpenter’s hands immediately found a new vocation. A one-man operation, Daniels handcrafts classic shapes from Bonzers to Burners and has more recently specialized in experimental shapes after spending time with Dick Van Straalen. Always in search of new experiences on a wave and with no shortage of eager test pilots, Daniels’s decade-old shaping career is just getting started. We can’t wait to see what he does next!
 

 

1) What's your super power?

• Still waiting for it to present itself..

2) If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?

• Anywhere that’s toobing

 

 

3) Guilty pleasure?

• Watching the synoptic charts, seriously I've got a problem with it. it’s more of an addiction

4) What posters did you have on your walls when you were growing up?

• Margo getting seriously coned & Munga Barry free falling out of the lip on the craziest west peak out sunset.

 

 

5) The current background image on your phone?

• The wifey and my groms

6) Best compliment you ever received?

• Any stoked out feedback on a board I've made for someone

 

 

7) Who do you trust the most?

• My Japanese made Makita planers

8) Any pre-surf rituals you MUST do?

• A cheeky spliffo

 

 

9) Coolest animal you’ve bumped into out in the water?

• I once saw a dolphin orgy

10) Last product you recommended?

• Tumeric