In this episode I discuss a new challenge on the horizon for 'The Dust Up'. We are launching our own YouTube channel dedicated to surfboard design content.

The first stage of establishing 'The Dust Up' was creating a podcast that focuses on surfboards and the amazingly talented people that make them. With the help of other shapers such as Luke Howarth, we want to provide surfboard design information and start positive conversations in the surfboard industry.

The second stage of The Dust Up journey is to create a visual content and continue to provide more information about surfboard design. Over the years there has been some great surfboard content created by magazines but some of it can be a little shallow and lack detail. We want ours to provide the extra detail.

The first series is called 'Changing Channels' and will take a deep dive into various channel bottom designs. Each episode will document a specific channel design including the shaping and design theory being applied. The board will then be surfed and feedback provided. At this stage there will be 6 or 7 episodes.

To achieve this we are reaching out to the amazing Dust Up community for assistance to cover the costs for a surf videographer and music rights.

We encourage people to sign up as a Dust Up Podcast member on Patreon or make a one off contribution. I also created a Kickstarter page for people to contribute. This page will only be available until the 18th of September.

We are asking for small contributions between $2 to $5 and links to Patreon and Kickstarter can be found on The Dust Up Instagram homepage. Alternatively, you can go to their websites and search 'The Dust Up Podcast' to find them.

The plan is to have the episode behind a paywall and a nominal fee of $1 to $2 to watch per episode. Any contribution $5 or more will get early access to the episodes, free of charge.

We are really looking forward to new challenges and further establish 'The Dust Up' as... THE PODCAST FOR SHAPERS AND SURFBOARD NERDS!

Thanks for listening...

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In this episode I talk with Tyler Bales from Fin Match.

Tyler took up hockey as a young boy and prioritised learning everything he could about every aspect of the equipment. Skates and hockey sticks have many variables depending on the position they play as well as personal preferences.

It was in his early teenage years when he discovered a love for surfing. As his ability improved, the questions he had about his equipment increased. Over time he realised a lot of his questions and sometimes confusion related to surfboard fins.

Tyler identifies a trip to Mexico as the turning point in his fin journey. The waves were small so he decided to use the MR (plus trailer) fins in his Tomo Sci Fi 2.0. The radical change in the boards performance had a profound and lasting effect on him.

Fast forward a few years and Tyler decided he wanted to create a resource that could clarify what various fins did and simplify how a person would select their next set of fins. www.finMatchsurf.com was born.

Fin Match allows users to input basic information to find fins that best match there request. It also allows users to create a profile to log their surfboard and fin quivers. One of the highlights of the website for me was the ability for users to log their surf sessions identifying which board they rode, which fins they used and the surf conditions. This information can then be exported to a person's shaper or coach.

Tyler and I discuss the various parts of the website, challenges people experience with fins and much more.

I hope you enjoy our chat.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Check out the stories on our Instagram home page to see the accompanying photo gallery for each episode.

@the_dust_up_podcast

If you like the music you hear on the podcast, we created 'The Dust Up' playlist on Spotify with all the songs from the episodes for you to listen to.

Last but not least, please be sure to subscribe and if you have the time to rate and review our podcast.

In this episode I chat with Ian Chisholm from Southcoast Surfboards.

Ian's early working life was doing night shift in the fruit and vegetable industry. The hours were unusual and the work was hard, but that only helped him develop his solid work ethic.

Ian's path to making surfboards was similar to many, but when he created Southcoast Surfboards around 30 years ago, he had planned to manage a Victorian wholesale surfboard business. The first people he reached out to were two industry heavyweights, Wayne Deane and Brett Munro.

It wasn't long until Ian figured out the success of his business would require him to get involved with building boards. Ian tells how he had to educate himself on the process of making boards from briefly watching a friend near Ulladulla and learn quickly from his mistakes.

Ian set up shop in Torquay when it was a lot smaller town and the people in the surfboard factories would keep to themselves. In time, Ian would establish good friendships with most of them and 'take his seat at the table in the industry'.

Over the decades, Ian has honed his craft, worked with top ranking surfers and train some of the next generation of top surfboard builders. We chat about how to improve the quality of your workmanship, tips and tricks for working with resin tints and pigments and establishing a solid process to work with a range of materials.

Ian and his wife Ange, (who recently won the women's over 40’s Australian Title) have curated a space in Torquay that combines a surfboard factory, showroom and coffee shop under the one roof.

Ian shapes a wide selection of boards including mini simmons, retro fish, mid lengths and all sorts of longboards. As he is the first ‘longboard shaper’ to be a guest on the podcast we talk about longboarding competitions, having a WSL longboard event at Bells Beach and working with his highly talented team of CJ Nelson, Soleil Errico and Ben Considine.

At the start of 2025, he suffered a major health scare and it was his determination and pragmatic approach developed from making surfboards that ensured his recovery. Ian is always honest and straight forward but he balances that with a healthy sense of humour.

I hope you enjoy our chat...

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Check out the stories on our Instagram home page to see the accompanying photo gallery for each episode.

@the_dust_up_podcast

If you like the music you hear on the podcast, we created 'The Dust Up' playlist on Spotify with all the songs from the episodes for you to listen to.

Last but not least, please be sure to subscribe and if you have the time to rate and review our podcast.