Press

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October 2012

TRANSWORLD surf magazine

Two pages about the recycled surfboard in the october issue of transworld surf.

Seven Ply Shred Sled / TWS October 2012

A surfboard made from broken skateboards

Making a surfboard from wood is nothing new; the ancient Polynesians made their boards from trees. More recently, surfboard builders like Grain, Hess, and others have brought wood constructions into the modern era. But Björn Holm, a design and furniture-making student in Finland, has a new and slightly ironic twist. For a school project, he created a surfboard made entirely from broken skateboards that he cut up, sanded down, and glued together. This wasn’t some weekend project; it took four months, 60 skateboards, and more than 500 hours. The result is as cool looking as it is interesting. —Casey Koteen

This looked like a ton of work. Any idea how many hours you put in?
Not really. I lost count after the first few months. But a friend of mine that commuted by my workshop every day and would see my car there guessed I must’ve put 500 hours into it, but I think that sounds like too little. The last few months I worked on it I was doing it five days a week, from nine in the morning to nine in the evening or later. So it’s been a lot of work.

When you know how to do something, it’s way faster. But to do all the research, and work with the skateboards, it took time.

What was the most difficult part of the building process?

When I made the material for a big area like the deck, or the bottom, it took a lot of time. I also ran out of material at one point, so I had to call skate parks and get broken boards. It was a hard process because you can’t just go buy it in a store.

Where you able to bend the wood, or how did you create curve?

Skateboards are made of seven layers of plywood, so you can’t really bend that. They’re bent already, so I had to cut it all up, sand it down flat, and saw it again so it’d be flat.

What was the most time consuming part?

Making the outline of the board. It took me three weeks to glue it. I made two pieces with the rocker in it. I’d glue a piece up and then had to wait three hours to do the next one. I wanted everything to be perfect. I don’t think there’s a millimeter that you could see into the board.

 How did it surf?

It went better than my expectations. I remember walking in the water and thinking, “Okay, this is it.” I put it in the water and it floated perfect. I jumped on it and it felt very stable in the water. I had a big smile on my face; it was a great feeling. I put so much work into it, and to try it, it was so nice. It’s hard to describe.

Would you ever make another one?

Yeah, I guess. But it’s hard. It feels like I took all the broken skateboards from Finland. If I made another, it would take some time to collect the boards. But I could do it in less time now, maybe six weeks. I think I could do it with less material, maybe 30 boards or so.

 What’s the feedback been like?

It’s been really good. I’m surprised how many people have shared the video. It’s crazy. I’ve been getting e-mails from design and architecture magazines in Spain. They want to show it in their magazine. Design and surfing are my passions, so it’s been nice.

-TWS

AUGUST 2012

I heart magazine (France)
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June 2012

Orginaal lifestyle magazine(Swedish)
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Att i vårt nordliga Finland näst intill schemalägga blod, svett och tårar för en surfbrädas skull kan te sig en aning konstigt. Ändå är det precis vad larsmobördiga Björn Holm har gjort. När studietiden vid yrkeshögskolan Novia i Nykarleby närmade sig sitt slut och examensarbetet skulle påbörjas stod det ganska snart klart vad resultatet skulle bli. En surfbräda. Oväntat kanske, men – känner man till historien Holm – ändå ganska självklart. Ett underbarn på cykel, med en tioårig proffskarriär inom freestyle motocross bakom sig. Nu utan hjul. Det här är långt borta, men ändå nära, säger Björn själv och sneglar på resultatet. Den där brädan med sitt väl och ve. Det största han någonsin har gjort.

I Larsmo är vattnet alltid närvarande. Pepparkaksfärgade barfotabarn växer nästan i vassen om somrarna, och Björns barndom tillbringades lika mycket under ytan som ovanför. Vågorna fascinerade och var samtidigt en del av vardagen. Sedan gjorde brädorna entré. Björn åker såväl skateboard som snowboard, och även om surfingen kom in i hans liv när han redan klivit ur barnaskorna känns det som om den alltid varit med honom på något plan, säger han. Att leva i vattnet och på bräda, det har han ju alltid gjort.

Och nu är den klar. Fyra månader och uppskattningsvis sextio, sjuttio omarbetade gamla skatebrädor senare. En 6’4” fish helt och hållet gjord i återvunnet trä med emblemet RETO påklistrat i hjärtetrakten. RETO, det beskriver något trasigt i Österbotten. Trasigt som brädorna. RETO, det är också en förkortning för Recycle for Tomorrow. Tio kilo kärlek, från Björn till morgondagen. Varsågod.