Who is Daniel “Tomo” Thompson?
Daniel “Tomo” Thompson’s Futuristic Quiver
Daniel “Tomo” Thompson has been one of the world’s best surfer/shapers for over a decade. Growing up near Byron Bay, Australia, with a shaper for a father, he has known George Greenough since before he could talk and started surfing the right-hand points of Lennox Head and Broken Head before he could walk. The influence of this childhood had a massive impact on Tomo, who quickly became a pro-level surfer, a skilled shaper, and an open-minded advocate of speed and hydrodynamics. After revolutionizing the fish design in the Australian points—both as a surfer and shaper—Tomo took his popularity to California, where his line of boards quickly gained popularity with his new market.
A lot of people began to take notice of Tomo, including most of the major magazines, and the 11-time world champion Kelly Slater. Slater had recently acquired a large share of Firewire stock and was in the process of creating his own line of boards under the Firewire umbrella, and decided to bring Tomo in as one of his shapers. Tomo’s pedigree as both a world-class surfer and a forward-thinking shaper fit into the ethos of Slater Designs, and his boards quickly found their way to the top of the Slater Designs quiver.
The Sci-Fi was the first of Tomo’s boards to really take off. Stu Kennedy put on a mind-bending performance at the Snapper event in 2016 on a Sci-Fi and opened the world’s eyes to what the board was capable of. This small-wave, bat-tailed (sort of!) shred stick is now one of Firewire’s best-selling boards and helps surfers of all levels to elevate their game.
Now, Tomo has a newly released SCI-FI, the SCI-FI 2.0. The Sci-Fi 2.0 will be available in LFT construction and is sure to be one of the most popular and rippable boards of 2020.
The Evo actually came before the Sci-Fi, as Tomo combined everything he knew about hull designs into a small, snub-nosed, high-performance board built to go fast and furious in smallish conditions. Although the shape was a little hard for some purists to swallow, the board quickly proved itself and quickly picked up a loyal following. This board is available from Firewire in the Helium construction and represents the best in space-age surfboard design and materials.
The Omni was the next step, taking the reduced swing weight and abbreviated nose concept of the Evo and making it more user-friendly. Slater broke the Internet when he rode this board in the first “test event” at the Surf Ranch. This board is available in Linear Flex Technology (LTF).
The Cymatic sort of takes the best of both the Sci-Fi and Omni and combines them in an avant-garde board for the discerning shredder. The Cymatic has the bat-tail of the Sci-Fi, as well as the quad inside single concave that Tomo built into his original high-performance stick. But with the reduced swing weight of the Omni (courtesy of a blunted nose), this board enjoys an even sharper turning radius, which equates to high-fidelity ripping. Available in LFT, this board is meant to be manhandled in small, shreddable waves.
After making a number of small-wave boards, Tomo decided it was time to expand his quiver to include a step-up. The Hydronaut was his design for larger, more powerful waves. Still boasting a blunted nose for reduced swing weight, it has a pulled-in, rounded pintail that almost gives the board a double-ender look. This elliptical template provides control and drives in the pocket, while the “torpedo” nose allows for fast, tight-radius turns, even in the heaviest of sections. Tomo has dominated this board all over the world, everywhere the waves get hollow and overhead. It is available in LTF and should be part of any serious charger’s quiver.
Finally, after seeing the popularity of the Hydronaut and realizing that people were resonating with his forward-thinking designs, Tomo decided to take the advanced functional aspects of his step-up design and integrate them into a board that was built for smaller, slightly weaker waves. The Hydro short still features the torpedo nose of the Hydronaut and the quad inside a single concave of the Omni but utilizes a softer squash tail for more release through turns and speed through weak sections. The result is a high-performance board with the drive and power of the Hydronaut, but the ability to thrive when the waves aren’t draining. The Hydroshort comes in Helium construction.
Having put together one of the most original and futuristic quivers on the market today, Tomo is clearly a leader in the surfboard industry. His partnership with Firewire and Slater Designs ensures that his high-tech boards come with high-tech materials, making them lighter, stronger, and more responsive. There really isn’t much more than you can ask for in a quiver.