Dead Kooks: Im Interview mit dem autralischen Shaper Eden Saul

So vielfältig wie die Wellen in Australien sind auch die Shapes von Dead Kook’s Eden Saul. Inspiriert von den Boardhapes der 60er und 70er Jahre shaped er in seiner Werkstatt an der Goldcoast seine eigenen Versionen davon, Longboards, Retro Fishs, Shortboards, Malibus und Guns, überhaupt nicht altbacken, sondern auf High Performance und Modernität ausgerichtet. Und das entweder in sehr cleanem Design oder mit einer Resin Art, die vor Farbe explodiert. Denn hinter Dead Kooks steht nicht nur Shaper Eden Saul, sondern auch wundervolle Künstler, die die Boards in den herrlichen Designs verzieren.

Dead Kooks hat sich innerhalb der letzten 10 Jahre entwickelt – von einem ursprünglichen Hobby im Hintergarten zu einem Vollzeit-Job, von Boards für Freunde und Familie zur Ausstattung der Quiver von Profi-Surfern. Seine Boards werden gesurft von den Mädels von Kassia Surf, Nathan Oldfield, Owen Wright und vielen mehr – vor allem in Australien kennt man Eden Saul. Nicht nur als Shaper, sondern auch aus dem Line-Up.

Wir kennen ihn nicht persönlich, freuen uns aber umso mehr, dass er uns für ein Interview einen Teil seiner Zeit gewidmet hat.

Eden Saul im Interview

1st photo ©Tim Bardsley-Smith

Eden, first of all – thanks for taking your time and answering a couple of questions we got! Happy to feature you and your beautiful work in our blog. If I got this right from your website, you started shaping around 10 years ago – why and how did you start? Yeh about 10 years now i guess.. I kinda just started mucking around with a few boards in a friends back shed. It wasn’t ever anything serious i was studying at the time but that got tiring and i just kicked around a coulee jobs doing boards on the side until that kind of took over at some point Do you remember the first surfboard you ever shaped? What was it? It was a 5’4 square tail twin fin, super pinched rail and kinda cool foil, it actually went pretty ok. How long does it normally take you to finish one surfboard? It takes as long as it takes.. Shaping and finishing is two different things. Shaping em all depends on whats going on with that board but generally a few hours. Where do you get your inspiration from and how did you decide on the attributes your surfboards should have / which types of board to make? I just make what i’d want to surf or what my friends want. That keeps it pretty honest Not only the shapes are beautiful, but so are the designs and the resin art. Do you design these yourself or is someone else involved in the art? What is the inspiration for your designs? I shape everything and am lucky to have a few amazing laminators who i work with in Alex Villalobos and Takamichi Uhara who do my resin work these days.

Die Dead Kooks Boards in Action – mit dabei: Erin Ashley, Leah Dawson, Lachlan Leckie & Eden Saul

Your boards are pretty well known in Australia, Surfers like Owen Wright or Kelia Moniz surf Dead Kooks – as well as Nathan Oldfield (we love his movies)! Is there any Surfer (or Shaper) who inspires you or that you admire? Yeh i’m super lucky these days to call some of my favourite surfers and shapers friends. Devon Howard, Cj Nelson,Erin Ashley, Kassia Meador, Lachlan Leckie all surf incredible and are good friends.. Then guys like Eric Arakawa, Chris Christensen are guys I’m lucky to call friends. Bob McTavish always blows me away with his stoke and generosity with knowledge. What was the greatest moment in your life as a shaper? Like: The perfect board, a Surfer who used one of your boards, a request that was everything you ever wanted to make (like a board which can also fly, duckdives itself and produces barrels wherever you go) One of the coolest things in a while was making a few boards for my good buddy Owen Wright who’s coming back from a serious head injury, been working on a bunch of shapes that are a long stretch from what he would usually ride but that have got him back in the water and stoked and thats been a great process and super rewarding. As far as I know, you surf yourself (how could you not living at one of the best places a Surfer can imagine. Which boards do you surf and what is your favorite board in your quiver? I love riding my 5’5 Twin fish, i ride a 9’8 log and a 11’11 glider, that right now is my go to. Which conditions do you prefer?Are you more a relaxed longboard-dancer or prefer some radical moves on a shortboard? Small or big waves? All of it, keep it interesting. Hard to pass on a good day of getting tubed. What’s your favorite spot to surf? Is there any spot on your bucket list that you haven’t surfed yet but you’re dreaming of? Lennox Point is where i grew up surfing and is still one of my favourite waves. And last but not least: Will you ever visit the Canary Islands? We definitely got some decent waves over here as well I’ve got a busy travel schedule but maybe one day.

Mehr über Dead Kooks, Eden Saul und seine Boards erfahrt ihr hier: Dead Kooks: Website Dead Kooks: Instagram Dead Kooks: Facebook © Copyright der Fotos: Dead Kooks