Rob Machado is getting in the groove. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
The best surfers are the ones who are dialed in with their equipment. Surfing at the highest level requires it. Those tiny tweaks are what makes the best stand out in a sea of other best surfers, and Rob Machado does nothing on a surfboard if not stand out. He’s deeply involved with the art of surfboard shaping, and his latest sled is on shelves. The Groove is, compared to his other recent shapes, high-performance.
“This shape still has the hybrid DNA Rob’s known for,” Firewire explained, “but it’s the closest thing to a high-performance shortboard Rob’s ever created.”
Machado has been known to make surfboards a little more suited for the everyman. Surfboards made for a surfer who needs a bit more volume. Surfboards made for waves that aren’t absolutely perfect. Surfboards that, to be honest, most surfers would benefit from riding more. To each their own — I hate yucking someone’s yum — but we are not all professionals surfing the best waves in the world on the best days. There is, however, that middle zone where the waves are good and you’re wanting a little something… more. Which, I assume, is where the Groove comes in handy.
“The Groove’s rocker and tail template bring this shape back into the world of being able to come square off the bottom and go square off the lip, what everyone calls ‘high-performance surfing,'” Firewire continued. “Rob added in more rocker than his typical shapes, with a tail rocker that puts you tight in the pocket and elevated nose rocker to help you come down tight off the lip without catching your nose.”
Machado’s surfing is so famous because of his ability to balance high performance with a cruisy, laidback style.
“All surfboards have a balance of speed and control, and the Groove is all about controlling the speed a good wave gives you,” Machado said. “It’s the most responsive, high-performance board I’ve ever designed.”
His journey through his likes and dislikes has, like every good journey, evolved.
“I feel like my designs are slowly moving in the direction of being more and more performance driven,” he said. “After stopping the tour, I went as far away from high-performance as I could. I wanted to feel what all these different designs had to offer out there in the world. Twins, single fins, bonzers…and beyond.”
But the Groove is Rob’s attempt to squash the best of both worlds into a single surfboard. A high-performance thruster that paddles easily, and is forgiving over flat sections. That’s a bit of a Holy Grail, but every step closer to something that’s basically unachievable is still a step forward.
“I designed it for waves with a bit of push and power,” Machado explained. “Probably waist-high to overhead. But it goes great in weak waves too, I just wouldn’t go as far as calling it a groveler.”
