Dan Mann Wins Icons of Foam Shape-Off Event at The Boardroom Show
The Clark Foam Shutdown and Industry Crisis
When Clark Foam shut down in the early 2000s, the surfboard industry was thrown into turmoil. Clark Foam had been the main supplier of blanks for the majority of shapers in the US (and around the world, for that matter), and the gap that was left in the market when the company closed threatened to destroy the industry. A number of small foam companies stepped in, but at the same time, shapers started looking more seriously at EPS and epoxy for board building. This ushered in a new era of pop-out boards and epoxy models that were being computer shaped and hand finished in factories in Asia—and just like that, the age of the local shaper appeared to be over.
Fortunately, the industry recovered and everyone from big-name board builders like Matt Biolos and Al Merrick to backyard shapers around the country continued to create surfboards. But the market was changed forever by the Cobra factory in Thailand, and China soon opened its own surfboard factories and began sending containers full of boards to the US. Someone needed to do something to save the soul of surfboard shaping, so industry stalwart Scott Bass stepped up and started an event dedicated specifically to shaping.
The Rise of The Boardroom Show
What started as a small festival has grown over the years, and today The Boardroom Show at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Southern California is the world's leading shaping and surfboard design event. In addition to booths from many of the world's leading shapers exhibiting their latest concepts and models, The Boardroom Show features two exciting competitions—a British Bakeoff-style event that's open to shapers from around the world, and a live Icons of Foam Shape-Off contest that pays tribute to a different legend of the shaping industry each year and is contested by a handful of the world's best board-builders who are invited specifically for the event.
This Year's Icons of Foam Shape-Off
This year, timeless Hawaiian shaper Eric Arakawa was the honored icon, and he got to choose the contestants: Dan Mann, Todd Proctor, Adam Warden, Chris Christenson, Richie Collins, Barry Van Der Muelen, Rodolfo Klima, and Allen White (the latter of whom earned a wild card spot after winning the East Coast Surf Expo shape-off event).
Arakawa then chose three of boards that he shaped over the years—a 1993 Derek Ho tri-fin that he surfed to a world championship that year, a Waimea gun that Arakawa made for Ronnie Burns in 1986, and the board that Andy Irons won the 2003 Pipe Masters and world title on. The shapers were each allowed a few minutes to measure and study the boards, then they had 90 minutes to replicate them in man-on-man heats in front of event attendees.
Dan Mann Takes the Win
When the foam dust cleared, Arakawa declared Dan Mann the winner—no surprise to us here at Hawaiian South Shore, as we have been big backers of Dan for years. His Mannkine boards are some of the best and most innovative in the industry, which is likely why Kelly Slater has turned to Dan to shape a number of boards for his Slater Designs quiver (including the FRK, the S Boss, and the Boss Up).
Dan also has a number of boards through the traditional Firewire label (which is partnered with Slater Designs), including the ever-popular Sweet Potato, the super refined Dominator 2, and the ultra-rippable Mashup—along with a number of longboard designs, including some of Taylor Jensen's signature models.
Why Hawaiian South Shore Backs Dan Mann
We are super proud of Dan Mann for winning the Icons of Foam Shape-off event this year, and of all his hard work creating the best boards in the business over the past couple of decades. Hawaiian South Shore keeps a solid stock of Mannkine boards on hand year round, and we encourage everyone to come in and see what all the fuss is about. After all, if his designs are good enough for Slater—and to impress Eric Arakawa—they are definitely good enough for the rest of us!
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