Story Board

From pallette to surfboard, Donald Brink shows us the ultimate Upcycle project, currently on display in the lobby of our headquarters.

"There were many meetings and the future vision of the paths and their effective benefit were discussed in depth. It was an exciting time and the reality was there were so many moving parts coming into place. Truth was the culmination of good people was to be the catalyst that produced these reactions that would resound into the world we shared and could be of benefit to many.

There was little need to start a new brand, apart from the very commitment to its details and legacy of its founding causes that could resonate with us all as creative and innovative surfers and beyond.

It was an honor to be involved and the creative urgency to capture this birth was burning within me. I thought about the few things that would remain and be remembered from these formative days. Imagining the the first installment of deliveries going out to customers and being assigned new stoked homes via distribution centers. I have made many wooden boards and buying wood to create such pieces seems a miss many times. It was then that the fascination for the lumber involved in shipping these very first crates came to mind and the vision was fanned into flame.

I asked for the very first pallets that would house these shipments of such beautifully designed and fresh goods. The very lumber that held the formation of the brands beginning. It had been paths, parts and planning till now, but the hard goods available had arrived and these were the days of legacy. What I wanted to live on was something from the very first days that could be re-imagined and purposed for the good of inspiring the minds of every creative and be a testament to the innovative character.

This was the wood from Vissla's first production run. It was made into something that was only before imagined yet refreshingly inspires the kindred spirits, surfers, designers, friends a tribe.

It was a labor of love and a creation of familiar understanding with the details of its virtue birthed within the essence of its being. There has been an overwhelming response from so many around the globe looking for tips and techniques on how the this board was built. Much will come and progress will tell a story of the creative visions that will be developed over the structures of the passions and identity discussed. Although this was not the initial intention, it is an honor to have had some role in inspiring people to do what they do." - Donald Brink

Hopefully this beautiful project inspires you to participate in our Creators & Innovators Upcycled Contest with Surfrider Foundation. Learn more here.

Film & Photos: Matt Gahan