Photo: Ryan T Foley

Standard dimensions: 5’8” x 18 ½” x 2 5/16” 11 5/8” x 14 1/2” Diamondtail

Design features:
Filipe’s favorite is a high performance Hellrazor (v2.0) originally made for Taj who chose not to ride it and sat in my office for 6 months. It has 24.5L of volume. I gave it to Filipe to try prior to the Breaka pro in 2012 and the rest is history! Filipe rides a slightly more hybrid a shape than Michel (Bourez). He can handle a wider tail and nose, benefiting from the fins releasing earlier than Michel would experience on his model. Filipe gymnastically transfers fin release to rail control in a millisecond allowing him to put the board back under his center, providing amazing recoveries from crazy maneuvers that don’t have names yet. The rocker is actually quite flat through the tail, which effectively compensates for the looser wider tail, keeping the board ultra quick from the get-go. If he had normal tail rocker kick he’d be all over the shop and not making many!

Anything about how the Firewires specifically relate to their brands of surfing?
Filipe is arguably the best aerialist on tour and he just 18! What he is feeling in his Firewires is the combination of the lightweight super sensitive and responsive rail to rail flex combined with the ability to load the rail resulting in lightening quick release when driving through turns. It is the perfect combination to maximize launch/air rotation and forgiving landings with the knowledge that is board is MUCH less likely to break/crease.

Any kind of feedback/input/preferences?
Felipe is all about a gymnastic approach of weight and unweight sensitive to every pocket of power or lack thereof to be able, catlike pull off moves that have his peers jaws firmly lowered…

Anything in general about how Firewires work for these totally different 2 surfers?
From their impressive results in 2012 it is widely agreed that Filipe is raising the bar in the air whilst Michel is doing the same on the face. The “weaker” sides of their surfing, ”(ha! We all wish we could do an air as good as Felipe and a hack as good as Michel, right?) are rapidly improving as they both going for broke to get equilibrium in their repertoire…Then watch what a Firewire can do under their gifted feet. To be able to commit to the moves that Michel and Filipe are doing you simply must have TOTAL faith in your boards performance and it’s structural integrity. They have. I am as stoked as!!!