Watch: Kelly Slater’s Mindcraft Experiment

“I want a board to get out of my way,” Kelly Slater summarized. “And I want to be able to feel like I can go anywhere on the face.”

It’s a tall order to create a surfboard that impresses one of the most astute high-level surfers who has ever lived. When Kelly Slater launched his own board label in 2016, his first partnership was with a surfer/shaper who was up for the task. It didn’t hurt that, in addition to being a creative and talented craftsman, Daniel “Tomo” Thomson rips and is a well-attuned test pilot for these very boards.