i had heard about danny hess through the malloys and his beautiful boards caught my eye at the wet sand surf shop in ventura. later that year i shared some waves with dan malloy in front of keith's house and he was absolutely killing it on his hess shortboard. he explained to me the parabolic stringer set up and the flex it generated through his turns - all this resulting in explosive speed off the bottom. it was around the same time that dan got a surfer's journal cover shot riding the very same board at rincon.
while spending a day in SF tracking down local glassers with brad gerlach, we decided to stop in and say hi to dan hess and crack a few Primos. having spent a lot of time in shaping bays i was really excited to check out dan's set up. meeting new people can go in many directions and we sorta crashed in on dan un-announced but with our case of liquid social lubricant in hand, everyone settled in pretty quickly. this being one of the things i love about surfing, it never really takes long to relate on a really unique level. i've also found that as a filmmaker, i really enjoy talking with other craftsman. whether its a board builder, a contractor or an artist, anyone who's mastered a craft usually appreciates others who have dedicated themselves to something they do. the process of having a creative vision, mastering tools to execute it, staying open to where the process might take you seems to relate well with filmmaking and to building surfboards.
dan's setup is as much a carpenter's wood shop as it is shaping bay. tucked beneath an old SF home, two wooden doors open to a space filled with lumber, cork, saw dust, metal tools and the quite master craftsman himself. when i saw all the wooden "hand guns" he is also making for bodysurfing i knew we would get along well. my dad taught me to bodysurf when i was about 6 and my first love for surfing came from there. no one was around to show me how to ride a board so i would just bodysurf. i even made my on "hand gun" in mr. wydra's summer wood shop class. i think mr. wydra gave me an "A" on the project but that's probably because dan hess wasn't in my class. his stuff is unreal, functional art.
his hospitality was all time and his excitement for these sustainable wooden surf craft was infectious. the stringerless hess boards are built within a wood/cork outline. eps foam is then placed in the center and shaped for deck and bottom contour, wood panel sandwiches it all together with a final layer of 4oz glass and epoxy.
dan showed us a board he had ridden about 50 times and it looked pristine, literally, untouched. the whole concept is sorta mind blowing. he is utilizing recycled materials, organic materials and creates a product that is more durable than the competition. finally, the damn things just look really f'n bitchin'.
we had a great time chatting - and the beer disappeared pretty quick. dan kindly gave brad a wooden "hand gun" for body surfing. all in all it was one of the more memorable nights from our week on the road and i really want to thank danny for taking the time to hang and talk story. if you want to check out his work you can visit
