We’ve been fans of the work of industrial designer Taylor Lane for some time now. Back in 2017, the man made waves when he won Vissla and the Surfrider Foundation’s third annual Upcycle Contest – a competition that challenges creators to make functional surf craft out of trash – with a surfboard made with 10,000 cigarette butts.
Beyond being a working, albeit super heavy, surfboard, the craft was also a powerful statement on pollution, cigarette butts being the most common form of plastic pollution found on beaches around the world.
Over two years since, Lane has made countless more cigarette surfboards and, together with filmmaker Ben Judkins, is nearing completion of a film project where the pair put these boards in the hands of a few big names including Jack Johnson.
“The board is designed to prompt a conversation,” says Lane. “It’s not a solution to the problem. It’s to show that this is something we should talk about.”
