An enviro-spiritual, socio-cultural impetus spearheaded by Mendia’s knife-work.

Have you ever imagined a world without violence, without divisions, without greed, radioactive waste, clean water shortages or sea-level rise…no racism, no oppression, or addiction, disease, disasters, despair, destruction…?
We all do. It’s one of the things that makes us human; the ability to imagine how things ought to be in the face of how things are.

As a shaper, you end up spending huge amounts of time isolated in a little room with plenty of additional hours to contemplate stuff like this.

It was one such day during a 4:30 a.m. extra early shaping session, when I had the factory to myself, that a thought from the night before entered the equation. My wife and I had been watching a movie together when she recognized one of the actresses, and said, “Hey, that’s that supermodel Shalom.”

For some reason that name, that word, stuck with me. I had heard it before, but was never really sure what to do with it. This began a word study that eventuated a thought process. It turns out the word ‘shalom’ is an ancient word that’s been around for millennia and reflects a heart desire and longing for a world at peace. But it goes even further than what English translations provide in the definition of the word peace. Peace it turns out is not perfection, but represents a world without conflict.

Whereas shalom represents a world where all things are operating in perfect harmony; purely a positive, beyond a double negative; the world as our hearts and minds yearn for it to be. WOW!

It made me think that if we can recognize what detracts from peace, we have the ability to choose the opposite of those negative things that seem to so easily draw us in. It made me think of the decisions we make every day.

Whether we put ourselves first and demand outcomes a certain way; sometimes even by trying to put down others to get ourselves ahead…and our actions towards other people…do we desire to see the best brought out in others? Or do we try to keep people down by the use of our actions and our words? Some say the fittest survive, kill or be killed…but where does that leave us as a whole in the end?

I think we have two choices all the time at any given time…to be a fragrance of life that builds others up or a force for destruction that tears others down. It’s as if everyone throughout all history is connected; is a part of an immense instrument…each of us a string that echoes a certain reverberation with each thought and action we pursue. Those reverberations echo out and ripple into an epic symphony; a melody with an effect towards peace, towards salaam, towards shalom; or they effect the noise of dissonance leading towards chaos…and everyone effects the tune that plays as a whole. It’s my belief that our actions, whether thought, speech or deed even effect this earth we live on and call home.

We effect it. And when it’s hurting, it groans. We are definitely seeing the effects of earth’s groaning. And many of the effects from our own actions directly impact our tribe. So when they try to make nasty negative, mean depressed and cruel look cool – try being kind, grateful, hope-filled and inspiring instead; and see how much better it makes you feel.

and about the board … it is for waves that we imagine in our mind; perfect waves; waves as we desire to be. And that needs no explanation, as surfers we know what that looks like. You can watch the inspiring surfing of Peter Mendia in the video for the kind of waves it’s meant for. It’s a board that just kind of emerged during a long day at work when an ancient word busted into my world and forced my brain down a path in pursuit of true harmony, an at peace-ness with each other and the world we inhabit. This board is a latest attempt at a tune that wants to find that perfect balance of design elements that works to bring a note of shalom echoing into the future. It’s a high performance shortboard / slight step-up design featuring increased bend in the rocker through the center of the board with a straighter rail line through the tail and a super deep accelerated single concave that runs the deepest through the fins, making for a board that will surf with power in the pocket, keeping water off the deck in fully committed carves.
Peace –
tp

It’s a high performance shortboard / slight step-up design featuring increased bend in the rocker through the center of the board with a straighter rail line through the tail and a super deep accelerated single concave that runs the deepest through the fins, making for a board that will surf with power in the pocket, keeping water off the deck in fully committed carves.

Power Broker

Andy Irons Dakine Traction

Octopus Chippa Traction