Stephanie Gilmore is a living legend. With eight world titles under her belt, she’s not only one of the most successful professional surfers ever, but she’s also known as one of the most stylish. She’s been working with Darren Handley of DHD Surfboards for a long time now, and the surfer/shaper relationship they’ve built over the years has been a fruitful one. And now, Gilmore and Handley have come up with a new model, fittingly called the SG Number 8.
“Why is called the Number 8?” Handley asks at the beginning of the video you see above. “It’s because she’s won eight world titles.”
The board is a little different than some of Gilmore’s others. With a wider nose that was influenced by some of Kelly Slater’s from a few years ago, the Number 8 is able to be a bit shorter than something narrower.
“It helps her when she wants to be more progressive,” Handley explained. “And also, you know, the airs were coming in and she wanted to land those airs a little bit safer and easier. It also gives her a lot more of a pendulum when she does a turn. It pulls the board around, which increases the speed.”
The wider nose isn’t all, however. “The SG NUMBER 8 is equipped with a slight single to double concave, providing a perfect blend of speed and control,” the video’s description reads. “This design ensures that you can effortlessly glide over the water while maintaining complete command over your movements. The medium low rail offers a balanced combination of stability and responsiveness, allowing you to carve through waves with precision and confidence.”
As one might expect of a board that Stephanie Gilmore loves, it’s not exactly meant for a beginner. Instead, it’s built for a surfer with a relatively high skill level; one who wants to ride a surfboard that makes the things they have in their head possible.
