Huster Surfboards brand
Ideation and logo design
I love surf culture and I love design. Makes sense to create a surfboard brand in my free time. Meet Huster. My vision is of great-looking longboards that can be ridden in any type of surf.
I wanted to create a brand that paid homage to classic companies like O’Neill, Billabong, Stewart, and Hobie. The kings of surfboard shape and design. When big names were only known on the beaches and in the bars of the local surf communities. When shaping wasn’t big business. Just a way to own a ride that worked for your style. I wanted everything to be word of mouth. Like the old days. No fancy marketing component. Huster Surfboards were born from this concept.
Design boards. Lots of boards.
I designed 60 boards to start with. Here are 8 of them. No matter what the design, the final shape was going to be longboards. They will all be longboards.
Shape some boards
Yes, I’m President but I also get my hands in the foam.
I wanted to learn every aspect of the business and shaping is the biggest part of it. The technical skill that it takes to be good a shaper would make car designers nervous. The most traditional foam used in shaping is Polyurethane. Grubby Clark first cracked the chemical code back in the 1950s. It’s extremely light and easy to shape. However, it’s also very delicate and can be easily marked by butterfly wings. It’s an exciting but labor-intensive process.
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Choose a blank
Grab a blank and mark out the shape.
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Shape the rails
There’s a little math and a ton of faith that goes into this step. Trust the process.
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Shape the nose and tail
Several different variations can be created. The final adjustments depend on the feel the rider is looking for.
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Add artwork
I decided on a simple buffalo design for this board. It’s called The Loner. The artwork was meticulously masked and the stringer (wooden strip) was taped off.
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Execute final artwork
Acrylic paint was sprayed to create the final design.
Built a surf truck
Simple. Purchase a ‘51 GMC 100 pickup basket case. Get a badass pinstriper to touch it up. Find a local car legend to pull the motor and drop in a bored 30 over, small-block V8. Hop-it-up with some unnecessary racing parts. Add white leather interior and a bamboo headliner. Boom. Rolling art and a marketing machine.
Promote with swag
What’s a surfboard brand without stickers and t-shirts? I’ve always loved both. My goal is to blow out this aspect of the business. Board shorts, t-shirts, beach chairs, boogie boards, etc… This is a huge part of the culture and a major part of the branding. It's a great feeling when you can get a consumer to embrace your brand so much that they advertise for you.
