Rob Machado has had a long career in surfing. He, along with Kelly Slater, Shane Dorian, Kalani Robb, Ross Williams, Benji Weatherley, Taylor Knox, Todd Chesser, and Pat O’Connell had a big hand in shaping the way the world surfs today. The Momentum Generation grew up surfing together and, over time, became a close-knit group of surfers who just so happened to also be some of the best in the world. They lived a unique life, traveling the world over in search of the best waves they could find.
It’s been a long time since his last full year on tour. Twenty-two years, if you can believe it, but he’s carved out a career path that is one only he could walk. A free surfer’s free surfer, Machado blazed a trail for people like Dane Reynolds, Craig Anderson, and Noa Deane. He’s a musician, an environmentalist, and so much more. His career has been punctuated by incredible moments like surfing’s most famous high-five.
Now, all these years and all those accolades later, Rob Machado has quieted down some. Gone are the days of ten months of traveling a year. He can often be found in his van, checking his local spot, just like any other surfer who has a few more gray hairs than they used to. He’s interested in board design; interested in the little changes to a surfboard that make those big differences. He’s interested in new shapes that give him new feelings. Many of the boards he designs are a little more conducive to the everyman surfer. Not a Pipeline blade or a big-wave gun, but something a little flatter, a little wider, or a little longer. His newest endeavor with Dan Mann is called the Mashup, and in the video above, he flips through the pages of his career before giving us our first look at a surfboard that seems like it might be (another) hit.
