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
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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

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#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
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Enjoy Your Water
Donald Brink