I love surfing. I love being able to ride waves. To feel the oceans energy, to release all my control to the Sea, to connect with Mama Ocean. But there's one thing about surfing that has always bugged me, and that's how harmful nearly all surf products are to the place we visit almost everyday for our joy and happiness, the Ocean. The whole process of creating, shaping, and glassing a surfboard is loaded with harmful chemical materials. Wetsuits are made from neoprene, a synthetic rubber. Not to mention the waste created by shaping surfboards. From the foam dust, to leftover resin, to broken boards that end up in landfills with no hope of biodegrading.
I met Mark Sanchez from Reeco Surfboards on my quest to find an eco-friendly board. A local shaper here in San Diego, Mark checked all the boxes for me on my list for a low impact board to ride. Recycled foam blanks, bio based resins, and he also makes wax combs and knives out the leftover resin. A closed loop, eco-friendly surfboard! Yessss! Mark shaped my first board for me and Be Kind Vibes a few years ago. A 5' stubby twin fin that soared across the face of the wave and paddled like a long board. I literally road that thing until the fins fell out and was beyond repair. So the time came for a new upcycled sled from my now good buddy Mark. An 8' eggy single fin for those knee high summer mushy beach days, to the over head reeling reef breaks at the cliffs. This sled is magic, pure magic.
Below are a few 35mm film photos I snapped on the day I picked up the board and took it for it's maiden voyage.
I love this upcycled magic carpet ride.
Check out the radness that is Reeco Surfboards on their Instagram and website.