The tradewindsurf Brett Warner interview! August 26, 2012 – Tags: , , , , , , ,

A big name in the world of shaping & just the surfing world in general, Brett Warner is a man who needs no introduction. His label Warner surfboards based in Sydney is popular world over & with good reason, a pro surfer in his day, Brett who has had his boards online with us since early this year has done an interview with us to talk about his life on tour, his son following in his footsteps & his thoughts on what it takes to be a good shaper & even where he thinks shaping is heading. For all those questions answered plus a few more read on & see for yourself!

WILLOW-
Hey Brett first of all just wondering where you first started shaping has it always been the Northern Beaches of Sydney or did you just end up there in the bay down the track?
BRETT WARNER-
I learnt to shape from Greg Clough and Chris Goulding(aloha surfboards) back in 1992 or 1993 in Brookvale. I have always lived on the northern beaches of Sydney.

WILLOW-
Back in the day you used to follow the tour competing, for those that don’t know would you mind telling them what era you were on tour & who you were competing against etc, I imagine you would have some pretty good war stories?
BRETT WARNER-
i started to do the world tour in 1989 the year Pottz was on fire and won the world title.  yeah it was so much fun and some of the stuff that went down was classic stuff. memories ill never forget and the Friendships i made through those years have been great.

WILLOW-
You have built a really great label at a very reasonable price on today standards, is Warner Surfboards popularity mainly due to word of mouth or are you into the marketing side of things extensively also?
BRETT WARNER
Building surfboards is hard,even harder now as there are so many shapers, i have got customers that i have had for 15 yrs and they still get boards off me as they know that we make quality boards, and we stand by our product.

[video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ4KRS_oZ6E]

WILLOW-
Having surfed in a lot of countries around the world do you feel that gives you an advantage when someone comes to you looking for an Indo board, Hawaii Board etc?
BRETT WARNER-
I think so,i go to indo every year and to some other countries as well,my team riders give me some great feed back aswell

WILLOW-
When I spoke to you on the phone the other day you said you were in Coffs Harbour watching your son compete at a contest there, could you tell us some more about that, is he following in your footsteps & does he ride your boards?
BRETT WARNER-
Yeah i was at the nsw state titles and he didnt do so well but his surfing is there to do well,just needs some coaching which we are looking into now.  he does ride my boards,but if he keeps being a smart ass he wont have a board to ride.

WILLOW-
One of your team riders I believe is Koby Abberton, obviously he charges some massive, heavy waves, does he break a heap of boards & is he hard to shape for e.g fussy with what he rides & what works for him?
BRETT WARNER-
Yeah Koby charges big time,he doesnt break that many,not as many as i would imagine. he is real easy to shape for,ive been doing them for atleast 12 years so he just tells me the size he needs and i just shape em. i do his boards with a 6oz bottom on all of his big wave boards.

WILLOW-
Whats the favourite model of yours & what dimensions do you ride it?
BRETT WARNER-
The MXN is my favourite at the moment 5,10″ x 19,1/2 x 2,7/16″ bit of area in the nose and a rd pin tail. good for small to medium size waves.

WILLOW-
What are your thoughts for where the surf industry is heading obviously it is growing, but how about board design, do you have any ideas for what the next big thing is shape wise, going on the idea that boards have grown in volume & shrunk in length over recent years?
BRETT WARNER-
Boards have come down in size thats for sure,i think we are at a good place at the moment as there are so many models for so many type of waves,i think new materials to make them a bit stronger and lighter,there are some good stuff out there that some shapers are experimenting with so time will tell, we never went down the epoxy trail, but i do have one and i enjoy it,but they can be a bit of a pain to produce.

WILLOW-
I remember years ago Sedz had one of your boards that he took to the junior world titles & it went really well for him I remember thinking that board looked really nice & from then on I plugged your boards to people, we know how handy it is to have good surfers riding your boards, do you have a lot of travelling pros getting your boards even if they aren’t sponsored by you?
BRETT WARNER-
I do get a few guys that order my boards and im stoked that they do,i dont really chase em as i know so many shapers do,so i just leave em alone. i have a great connection with Quiksilver, so they pass a lot of surfers on to me that ride for them.

WILLOW-
Greaat to talk with you Warner thanks for answering our questions & shaping the boards for us!
BRETT WARNER-
No worries, all the best and keep up the great work.  yeeeeew