Modern Meyerhoffer

"He’s coming at it from a really innocent design perspective, and that’s what makes this significant," says Sam George in a New York Times piece by Joshua Robinson (7/14/09). Sam is a former editor of Surf magazine and he’s referring to Thomas Meyerhoffer, who used to design electronic devices for Apple but has now designed a "startling" surfboard for himself — and for other surfers looking for something new. "It’s about creating a different feeling," says Thomas. "Like the difference between playing tennis with a wooden racket and a metal racket. Or playing golf with wooden drivers."

Actually, Thomas "does play golf with wooden drivers." But the surfboard he’s created, known as the Meyerhoffer, features a pointed nose, a pinched middle and a long tail. He fashioned its hourglass outline in a "tiny backyard shed," by hand, out of foam. The idea basically is "a longboard that rides like a quicker, more maneuverable shortboard." Thomas says the result is a shape that’s more "organic and fluid which seems to fit the wave better. Instead of surfing the wave, the wave surfs you … You become one with the wave."

He says the design evolved over time. "I never designed the board to look this way," he says. "It became this way." At first he tried designing by computer, and sending out his creations to be machine-cut into foam and then slathered with epoxy. But he soon realized he had to refine the machined shapes by hand. "Everybody can design on a computer today," says Thomas, "but to go from your computer screen to a board that really works is like cooking food. Anyone can read a recipe, but the master chef will always be much better." His first run of 1,000 boards, manufactured by Global Surf Industries, sold out.