Rob Machado’s most recent shape in collaboration with Firewire has been teased for some time. But, a few weeks ago we got our first glimpse of the Seaside – the answer to Rob’s question: “What if you could only ride one board for the rest of your life?”
When Firewire announced the board would soon hit surf shops everywhere earlier this month, we swooned. Two of Rob’s previous designs, the Go Fish and the Moonbeam, have been wildly popular since their release. Probably, at least in part, due to the fact that everyone wants to surf like Rob Machado. The Seaside combines elements of both, but is entirely different at the same time.
“The Seaside is about refining… less area in the tail, narrowing the tips of the swallow, creating more curve and narrowing the nose,” says Rob, compared to the Go Fish. “All elements for ripping while the Go Fish stays cruisey and fun. They’re both in my van all the time.”
With the idea of the shape being available only as a quad, Rob also developed a fin set especially for his creation.
“I decided that if I was going to make a quad I would make a quad that’s strictly a quad and design the concaves and bottom contours around that,” he says. “I actually redesigned the entire concave setup that I’ve been using on the Moonbeam and Go Fish and did it with a quad only setup in mind so that it all works together with the new fin set.”
It’s fitting that Rob enumerates the design elements of his newest model in the parking lot of the board’s namesake and Rob’s home break Seaside Reef. We’ll let Rob take it from here.
