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Brinksurf.com

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Creators and Innovators tour

Creators and Innovators 
From one stop to another we met great people, shared the interesting boards we brought along and encouraged everyone we met along the way to ride anything and everything. 

From South Florida to big Apple as the humidity and heat tapered off, the waves improved. No matter where we arrived we shared the local stoke and conditions with the friendly residents. 

Thank you to all those who made it out along the way and for the great conversations and sessions shared. No matter where one lives or what the depth of understanding of your craft you ride may be. The ocean is a tremendous playground and one that besides all is a privilege to be played in with one another in a broken world. Ride anything and everything remembering to enjoy your water.

To those who I missed while traveling, and those showing patience in your ordering process thank you for your continued interest and commitment to good boards and this path we are on together.

Stay tuned for imminent news and releases. 
best
Donald brink
explore Vissla for news,videos,playlist and more

Post Show Breakdown. Words with Ben and more

The Boardroom Show.com took place this past weekend and was a fantastic event. Offering a collection of board builders, surf related companies and more. The essence of surfing and its parts were well displayed in the trade show platform and on the beach. This years demo day held early morning at 15th street in Del Mar was well attended and we had fun waves to enjoy sharing equipment and chat story.
To all those who made it past my booth, thanks for the great conversations we shared and thanks to the many of you who showed such interest in the the boards and thoughts. 

The Show honored Mr Ben Aipa and I had the most refreshing candid conversation with him prior to the whole shows start. It was an impromptu meeting in the vacant isles that were soon to be filled with energetic surf fans. We talked about surfing and life and the beautiful opportunity we have to enjoy the ocean in the way we do. I’ll forever remember the eagerness in which he embraced the perspective in our dialog, and look forward to connecting on my next visit to Hawaii with his open invitation.
Timothy Hogan's "Fin Project" printed some wonderful images on site and it was great to partner with his team and their efforts.

Take a look at “Reid Levin’s” brisk review for “The Inertia"

Work continues now as summer approaches and the new thoughts and designs are feeling really good and being enjoyed. Stay tuned for some news and announcements to follow shortly.
 

Enjoy Your Water

Donald Brink
BrinkSurf.com

Surf Careers Article

Surfcareers.com
It is an absolute joy to go shape boards and be involved with their details for surfers everyday. Its been an honor to be included on the recent article by Australian based On-Line feature.
Surfcareers.com
I guess when you dedicate your best thoughts and time of every day to provide something for the benefit of the end user its termed productivity for consumers and thus a career.
I feel it more of an honor and a joy and have been working hard to create a sustainable future for the demands of these thoughts and ventures.
The questions span a brief history of my youth and introduction to surfing, to current designs and motivations. I really enjoyed writing this piece for you as the answers to great and informative questions. Thanks to Matt and the crew at Surfcarres.com and to the contributing
photographers included: Shawn Parkin and Ben Classen
Click the Link below to the article, enjoy the read, enjoy your water.
Donald Brink BrinkSurf.com
http://surfcareers.com/blog/donald-brink-shaper/

Single Purpose

Single Purpose. Giving Back. There is always opportunity to serve. Stay tuned this year as we continue doing what we do and creating real change for others. 
It's simple Enjoy Your Water whilst helping others. 
100% of your proceeds go to a project or charity involved. Always. 
This board will help @wavesforwater and their Stella work. #100kworldwaterday is coming up get involved. 
This board will be enjoyed in SF thanks to Mr Lee Jakobs for his excitement and enthusiasm in these efforts. 
 #surfwell #EnjoyYourWater 
Follow @visslasurf for things like this and more to come.

Partner Shape

Partner Shape is an initiative I started many years ago. Although I had not shaped many boards,  I wanted to share the joy and excitement with others who expressed interest in the craft.
I don't claim to know all there is to know about boards and never will. What I do find important,  however, is the necessity to highlight the importance of detail in any board and the beauty of its parts.
I  confidently say to many: "After shaping a board you will never have a bad session again"
It's a brave statement, but from then on its a curious study of rails, rocker, fins and more and even if its barely breaking, just paddling a board can tell one so much.
Investing in suitable tools and working in a controlled and safe environment makes the entire process much easier and will result in refreshingly excellent creations.
Every stage in building a board repeats itself at least once, so its a great platform to show and share from step to step. The aproach to shaping a board is perhaps most important. Knowing what you're doing at any given time and how to get to whats next will take a seeminly daunting task and break it down into steps that we can understand. You will know what we have done, why, what is left and when. This goes for any kind of size or shape. A solid aproach to an intentional design.
Together we can Partner Shape.

Surf Splendor Podcast

Amidst a busy start to the year, there have been countless opportunities to witness and appreciate the delights this life brings.

Although I don't try build odd looking boards, the nature of committing to asymmetric changes from nose to tail and rail to rail to enhance a concept or create a forgiving change creates boards that can need a little explaining.

I am honored to have been included in the Surf Splendor Podcast series on the recent episode. It was a  great pleasure discussing a brief history and some board concepts with Mr. David Scales. David asked relevant questions that built on one another throughout our time and created a lovely dialog that you can enjoy. It is always great to have these thoughts challenged and explored by people who know little or lots about surfing.
What continually comes to mind in conversations like these is the fact that this opportunity to play in the ocean is simply a privilege and one must cultivate your fascination for the sea.
Check out other interesting interviews on the Surf Splendor platform.

Enjoy the feature by going to the link below or find it on iTunes or stitcher if you prefer.

http://surfsplendorpodcast.com/022-donald-brink-hand-shaped-hydro-crafts/

Video Sample

visit brinksurf.com to order
#creativeandinnovative vissla.com
Enjoy Your Water
Donald brink

January1 Word for the Year

Being grateful is the best condition from which to look forward. It's been a memorable year gone by and the future seems to be one filled with great hope and possibility.
Most years, I like to find a theme or a word on which to hinge the mood or decisive flow and put a sense of intention with explainable reason on the path being forged day in and day out.

It's best to have these thoughts buttoned up before the year turns over and it's been a fun task dreaming of the ways ahead. I resonated with the word DELIGHT, reading it in various passages in the scriptures. I went about learning exactly what it means, to have a deeper understanding of why I was intrigued. The familiarity of its use has declined since the eighteen hundreds yet the meaning has never been so real today.

    de·light noun \di-ˈlīt, dē-\
: a strong feeling of happiness : great pleasure or satisfaction

: something that makes you very happy : something that gives you great pleasure or satisfaction

Growing the surfboard brand and working on the details as a custom craftsman has a natural tendency to intrigue me and I love what I get to do. I find it a continued honor to partner with people in their wave riding pursuits. More than this though, the children are growing up quickly and with each day brings a confidence from new learned things and a bravery in the fascination of the new experiences at hand. I have watched the captivation of an animators character on a movie screen displaying a world of fantasy being believed by a four year olds perspective. The simple study of the delicate fibers of the end tassels on a carpet by a toddler as he studies the details with the best accuracy of his motor skills.

Seeing the present in a way that gladdens ones heart and looking toward the future and the thrill it will bring and the charm it will hold leads me to label the year ahead a year of "Delight" We cannot know the details ahead or the joys or pain it may bring. What we can foresee is the mystery of any day we are apart of and the complexity of its detail. This alone can bring a stance of delight.

Enjoy your year and consider the things to be bewildered by. Don't forget to appreciate and cultivate your fascination for the sea. Thank you to all those who have supported our path, ridden a board and helped in this journey. I look forward to the partnerships, potential and plans on the horizon as we take what we know and apply design and intent toward a better world and a better understanding of its creation and maker. For me, this is most obvious in the details of family, art and surfing.
Here's to another year of being #creativeandinnovative vissla.com
Order at brinksurf.com
Enjoy Your Water
Donald Brink

Remembering Madiba

 

A quick Ink Brush sketch to honor Madiba and the service he gave. The compasion of this man on the country I grew up in was not deserved or expected. The grace he showed leading us towards freedom for all and equality could not have been writen as it was without him.

In my youth, I clearly remember feeling the overwhelming tension in the air through the times of change. 

It was not expected that a man leading the right way forward was to be one of such grace and without resentment. A country that had done everything to hide the ways, actions, capabilities and potential of such a leader, now at the mercy of his guidance as the people looked to him to lead.

To be honest I thought we were all gonna die, being a young white boy walking the streets of Johannesburg from school running from riots and the sound of gun shots. Mandela was a man in power then, but not a man we knew, never mind one who we now have seen could lead with such grace.

I'm honored to have lived in a country which has undergone such change through a time that was lead by a man unlike any. Thank you Madiba

Fittingly Black and white.

 Ink brush and honor. 

Donald Brink

Short Sale First Five

Its a consistent honor to shape boards for people just like they need and want them. I embrace and find myself fascinated with all types of surfing and boards. Today I'm offering a special for those who need or want a short board and find they value in this deal and the benefits of working on the details involved for a custom hand shaped board. Whether you are referencing an old favorite, or looking for the dream groveler, this season we can build some thing special. Keep it light tight and right.
Consider the options over the next few day as you seek out something just right. Black Friday has a place, but perhaps more importantly and along the traditional roots of surf boards history and heritage. Small business Saturday is tomorrow, so support you local shapers and keep the true essence of those who innovate and create alive.

visit brinksurf.com to order

Offer available to first five customers,
advertised price includes the shaping
and glass. Clear sanded finish with fin
box system of choice included.
Add for fancies
offer valid only for local pick up
no shipping or international orders
Enjoy Your Water
Donald brink

Sustainable Show at Surfing Heritage Cultural Center tonight

Testing a board Testing abroad

Building boards based entirely on the output of the surfing experience and the functional elements of each part is a pursuit of freedom. This can create new and alarming statements in a boards look, but it's the perception of the value and the soul of the sum of their parts that often times needs little more than a few words of explanation toward understanding the vision and value and at times to more trained eyes perhaps just a giggle or a grin.

I know some of these boards look different because I'm used to seeing normal ones just like you are. However, in the dedication to bring the best out of performance and be on the cusp of progression, in varying wave types and conditions, with whatever ability or maturity a wave rider has, these brave thoughts have brought much joy to small and meager days at beaches and reefs abroad that will be forever etched within the memories of the surfers ride.

I recently returned from Hawaii, the Queen of the Sea to me. It was a short trip and the forecast predicted smallish surf. I never travel to Hawaii with out a good single fin in the bag, there is something about drawing pure and intentional lines on the stages where so much of what we have come to know all began and continues to be adorned.  I gravitated towards the updated and refined progression of thoughts in my little quad. The water was warm and so were the locals. "Mahalo", a few strange looks and perhaps a comment or two but the board felt so well matched to the conditions on offer.

I have spent so much time in Southern California's weaker waves, longing to create good grovel boards for anyone. The weight of testing similar concepts in a paradise like the islands brought feelings of slight trepidation and awe. I'm learning the reality that the sea needs to be approached and engaged in on whatever level or flavor it has to offer and the smaller days can be intentionally and bravely embraced with design and determination.

Enjoy your water; whether the sun shines, waves break or rains fall. We are to cultivate the fascination we have for the sea and are solely responsible for this. Play in the sea and be free. There seem to be less and less venues in this day and age where creativity and innovation is embraced and honored. Surfing can be the part of your life in which you can bravely learn and live these free traits. From what you ride and how you ride it, wherever you are start pursuing the mysteries hidden in your experiences of the sea on the smallest of days and beyond.

Stay tuned for upcoming announcements and vision details on how and why surfing will never be the same again because  of the creative and innovative paths and plans of many who care. #creatorsandinnovators

Enjoy Your Water,
Donald Brink
brinksurf.com

News and More from recent happenings, boards and events

It has been a busy and exciting season getting ready for the past weekends show. The Boardroom is an anticipated annual event, this being my third year having a booth. I thank all the surfers and friends who came by the booth with the kindest of words about the craft. We had a wonderful time discussing wave rides and explaining concepts of the boards and sharing thoughts and visions.

This year was a particularly treasured show as I was included in the lineup of 6 shapers chosen to honor Terry Martin in the Tribute to the Masters Shape Off. This was taken with the utmost respect of honoring such a friend and true legend to life and this craft of shaping. I was amongst the most talented of shapers with elaborate pedigrees and years of refined talent. We each recreated a 9'8" Legacy style longboard triple stringer with moderate rocker and a blended concave. Perfectly tuned rails and every inch of intentional perfection in Terry's board which we could study and reference yet not measure. Matt Calvani did well to claim top honor and the perpetual Mike Marshal trophy.  The two allotted shaping hours flew past, yet with a determined pace and dedication to craftsmanship and detail, I was elated with my efforts. My shape finished out well and although I could have spent 3 weeks getting the dust off and trying to make Terry more proud with every nuance, I think he would have been beaming at the board I made and so proud of the encouragement and belief he invested in my path which I draw from daily.

Shaping surfboards is a precious craft and I love to be involved with making surfers boards. The interest for how boards are made from one design to another, was hugely evident at the show in the crowds formed around every shaper, watching through the windowed bays from start to finish.

I have been working hard on the details and design of a new board concept for some time and the results have been rewarding. I was awarded "Best of Show" in the alternative board category for this entry and the concept was received well and had common interest among people as we discussed the thoughts of form and function of the creation. I have a patent pending on the board and look forward to the potential in manufacturing of these in a soft durable format. I feel like we can forever change the world of surfing with a fun pure and extremely progressive all encompassing option like this. The basic premise is: wave shaped rail, beach shaped rail. Go right, flip it over go left. Finless, buoyant, fast, functional, freeing.

Stay tuned for more developments.

Enjoy Your Water,

 Donald Brink
brinksurf.com

Korduroy TV Local Legendz post

http://local-legendz.tumblr.com/post/60762442713/donnie-brink-in-san-clemente-seems-to-have-such-a
Its an honor to be included in this initiative, for one I like Korduroy TV. Secondly Brenton you are the Legend. Classic Humans, thanks guys.
Donny

Liquid Salt Interview

http://www.liquidsaltmag.com/2013/09/donald-brink/

 

Shapers announced for terry Martin icons of foam shape off at the Boardroom 2013

http://business.transworld.net/139839/news/shapers-announced-for-terry-martin-icons-of-foam-shape-off-at-the-boardroom/#.UiaCTKW48IA.facebook

Today is Terry's Birthday. I was finishing up a shape and bouncing around the factory shifting gears this morning when his son Josh pulled up. We chit chatted a little and discussed fins and finishes, latest projects and the goings on of the recent few days. I knew it was his dads birthday and I brought it up in the conversation because I knew he must be thinking about his dad a lot on a day like this. He was and he explained how he adjusted his schedule at the drop of a hat to shape balsa and keep things real on a day like today. It is as though he knew those kinds of inklings were birthed in him from the passionate paths of his father. I feel it too, the effects of the encouragement along the way towards your own dreams and goals from a mentor and respected master like Terry was, and is, as the effects of his role in each one of us lives on, challenging us to make a difference and do something.
Donald Brink
Enjoy Your Water
Shaping Life Tribute Film

Movie : Day In the Life of Video Portrait

http://www.grindtv.com/lifestyle/culture/post/donald-brinks-divergent-design-thinking/

video Link: /Click here to play video

News Letter August 2013

Current summer season has seen much change and some new opportunities for my shaping and your surf boards.
Working in the the new factory has been a pleasure. Building good surfboards is an artistic and creative, yet very accurate skill that is smothered in soul. It's birthed from a comfort of ones creative space or current state.

Recent projects include new designs and refinement of others, duplicating or referencing favorite boards and recreating for customers. All these tasks keep the learning curve keen and the hands and eye in tune. I love the variety of boards we get to put together, working with people on the rides of their dreams and details of their surfing experiences.

Its an honor to be included in the conversations of surfing and surfboards throughput the world. Hard work, dedication to a passionate path and a commitment to responsibilities seems to be the common must-haves to things that are built over  time and have a good effect on others and add to the world. My role as a craftsman was included in a recent profile piece for Fiat's new campaign showcasing the 500L. The 4 door elegant ride suits an active family like ours and the needs of a surfer and family man can be met with their new car. The day in life of format was fun shooting and is really a pretty  accurate representation of our daily flow from work to play and more.

The asymmetrical boards continue to be drawing attention and rightly so because reports of the changes made for the heel rail to the toe rail have surfers noticing the benefits of the design in question as we aim to reference their flavor of ride and enhance its performance particularly in small surf. They continue to be fun to shape and design. The bravery of being different is something that is generating joy for those who believe and provides an opportunity for education to others along the way.

Surfing to me is proving to be a deeper and deeper activity the more I begin to asses its pure value and just how well it can be used to add to each and every one of our paths.

Enjoy Your Water,

Donald Brink
http://donaldbrink.com
View video and GrindTV blog here:  http://www.grindtv.com/lifestyle/culture/post/donald-brinks-divergent-design-thinking/

keel fish

four flat full fun fierce fabulous foolsgold