Photo: Nathan Smith
What are the key things you need to tell your shaper?
I can’t stand people when they feel they have to say the board is amazing just to make the shaper feel better. If it surfs like the Titanic, tell the shapers it surfs like the Titanic. Things I generally look for in shortboards and give feedback on are weight, thickness, speed, drive. I think a magic board comes down to that first wave, as soon as you take off it feels like a piece of magic carpet with a rocket up its arse.

You were on Simon Andersons… He invented the thruster, did you ask him for quads and twinnies much?
Simon is pretty open minded, except he hates doing channels, I begged him for years but he wouldn’t bite.

Best thing a shaper has said to you?
I did a boat trip with Simon when I was on his boards full-time and he said to me “ Bottle you’re off the team”, after watching a good clip of me after the session 20 minutes later, he was like “Bottle I have reconsidered and you are now back on the team.”

What’s unique about a Bots sled?
I am a nightmare to work with, I swap and change boards like my underwear. But I’m not into all these short fishy boards that everyone is riding, just because Kelly and Dane ride them. Look, they are really fun to ride and it’s great to experiment but I personally think the boring old short board thruster is still the best on the market.

Is surfing another shapers board like cheating on them? Or is it only being unfaithful if you enjoy it?
Put it this way if your wife was slaving over the hot stove for hours trying to cook you the perfect meal and you decided to go around mates house for a pizza and beer, your wife would be pissed. But if that pizza was the best pizza you ever ate and gave your wife new ideas to make you a nicer pizza she would be stoked.

The boring old thruster is still the best on the market