Global Surf Industries Xeroxes Shawn Ambrose
Screen shot from the Ambrose Surfboards website. Surfer/shaper Shawn Ambrose has been making these parabolic longboards for years and years.
Screen shot of the GSI website. They thought we wouldn’t notice.
Ambrose team rider Steve Benedict on a “Quadzilla” parabolic longboard.
Some GSI dude.
Former FCS employee, novice surfer and GSI owner is Australian Mark Kelly (or “Kel”). In this video he explains how he “designed” the parabolic longboard.
Global Surf Industries (GSI) surfboards are made by low wage non-surfers in the Cobra factory located in Thailand. You can find them for sale in surf shops owned by people who forgot why they started surf shops in the first place.
Ian...
August 26, 2008They took urr jobs!
Anonymous
August 26, 2008“You can find them for sale in surf shops owned by people who forgot why they started surf shops in the first place.”
One of the best statements ever on poopouts and the shitty shops that support them! Say what needs to be said.
-Ron
Dave
August 26, 2008I just get so sick of this garbage. Thank you Moonlight for still calling it how it is.
Dave
bubbie
August 26, 2008JP, the GSI surfer at Noosa has an uncanny resemblance to the beloved surfer monument in your area! Sick arm waving!
What will GSI develop next? The Mini Fish Simmons? Seems like the board to inappropriately appropriate these days. Thanks for the exposé!ydur
Banditodepopouts
August 26, 2008IM going to have a few more cups of coffee before i respond to this. mark kelly aka “The non surfing DEVEL” is a complete dumb dumb. He helped design this board? Yeah right! the only thing he was involved in when making this board was paying someone off to steel the template from Shawn.
I could see him now, sitting in a hot tub full of underaged tranny Thai sex slaves making the call to (well you sellouts on the hill at know who you are) Hey ill give you guys $10, some blow, and a 12 pack to go steel me that template. Total ass clown that guy.
jeff
August 26, 2008And as you scroll down you see Midget Smith’s picture. Could there be any more of a contrast? Sad…
Anonymous
August 26, 2008i cant believe nobody here, or elsewhere, has left a bashing comment in the youtube comments area,..!!
Anonymous
August 26, 2008so, shawn ambrose is the sole inventor of the “parabolic rail” ? (whatever the fuck that is – i won’t go in to this parabolic bs)
don’t get me wrong, gsi can suck saggy ass balls, but to think that ambrose invented this shit is kinda ridiculous
reverb
August 26, 2008…happened similar thing with Firewire
Those kind of Yuppies think that there s tons of money in surfboards…
they should go back to the clothes industry
surfer
August 26, 2008Shawn Ambrose was the first person to use parabolic rails on a longboard. The fact that both boards are quads are revealing because Ambrose was making Quadzillas before quads became trendy again. Everyone knows that Kel monitors the blogs and message boards for new ideas. Ever notice how much GSI’s 7 super fish looks like Pavel’s speed dialer?
Who's Your Daddy
August 26, 2008The race to the bottom continues!
DK
August 26, 2008Fark off mate!
Him and his popout quad parabolic longboards can fark off!
he’s lucky hes not in ca. or ambrose might be sending one of his henchmen to do a cleanup.
Anonymous
August 26, 2008walrus said—-i wish i could say that i’m stunned that this has happened–but i can’t, the whole industry is full of back stabbing idiots—if i get a board , i talk to the shaper, face to face—i got screwed once by a guru
Anonymous
August 26, 2008I’m sick of the summer kooks and their pop-out boards!!!!!!
I’ll gladly trade 10 degrees in water temp for empty lineups and good waves.
Anonymous
August 26, 2008couple random thoughts:
* “You can find them for sale in surf shops owned by people who forgot why they started surf shops in the first place.” GSI boards are available at places like Ventura surf shop right next to MC Bonzers. maybe not right next, but two isles over.
* yeah it sucks this looks to be a copy of Ambrose’s design, but ain’t that pretty much how the whole surfboard industry has operated for years now?
* I really don’t see GSI as eliminating completely custom shapers. they’re been around for a good time now and we still have lots of good custom shapers around. in fact I know of one GSI “label” guy who tried to retire on via his royalties and is still back in the shaping room. GSI boards are one of MANY options available. even the Downings have a line with them. Who here is going to talk shit to them? I’d like to be there if you try.
* you get what you pay for. consumers have to realize they need to cough up the cash now to get a good board. if you’re a cheap bastard then GSI is the way to go
Anonymous
August 26, 2008Why is Blinky giving those guys rack space?
Anonymous
August 26, 2008Correlation does not imply causality.
Justin
August 26, 2008LOOKS LIKE gsi POP OUT CRAP FROM WHAT I CAN SEE. HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
http://downingsurf.com/boards.html
Anonymous
August 27, 2008Thanks JP. I’d always wondered who invented the single into doubel barrel concept.
what a PLASTIC WEINER!!
Anonymous
August 27, 2008re the downing site – does anyone actually order a surfboard online?
Anonymous
August 27, 2008yes i did …… from surfy 🙂
Julien
August 27, 2008Don’t let your friend ride Asian Board!! Moonlight, Thanks for your job and your state of mind!!
Julien from UWL workshop in France
Anonymous
August 27, 2008kind of off topic but not really…whats up with tudor surfboards being made by surftech. I had no clue. I found myself cruising PCH and got sucked into the Hansen’s “one weekend only summer” sale in the parking lot and figured I Might as well scan the board rack to see if I could find a foam board among the sea of pop-outs. First board I saw was a blue eggy tudor surftech. The worst part was they didn’t even take to customs sticker off the board that clearly said “Thailand”. kind of one of those moments when you realize alot of the “soul” in surfing isn’t really what it seems. Good to know that there are still places like Moonlight.
Any body have any thoughts on why todur surfboards went to the dark side?? Just curious.
-JJ
Kirk
August 27, 2008If you are going to order a board online or any other way, a Downing is an excellent choice. Pretty stoked on mine even before you factor the history of that family and shop into the mix. Poor old Ambrose, not that anyone with a clue is going to buy a GSI over one of his boards, but it’s just a slap in the face to have some jackass claiming a design you’ve worked up. Too much of that going on on all levels of the ‘industry’.
Anonymous
August 28, 2008Some people,like kids and weekend warriors, can’t afford $700.00 for a handmade board.
Anonymous
August 28, 2008What’s wrong with ASIAN made board ? Does all the F1 car maker drive like F1 driver ?
Don’t ever ever blame equipment for bad surfing. Look at the person in control first.
AnDi , asian ….
Anonymous
August 28, 2008Dang, I can remember when back in the 60’s, weekend warriers and little kids made perfect homes for still-superb, handmade in America surfboards. Granted, back then California’s shop boards weren’t throw-away material….before they even left the store.
Support your locally made surf industry.
n2balsa
Anonymous
August 28, 2008still superb…used..boards that is.
n2balsa
shacky
August 28, 2008You can still get custom thrusters in solcal for $400 not every board has to have a $150 color job.
shacky
August 28, 2008Andi don’t play the race card they mean low cost Asian countries like China, Thailand and Vietnam with oppressive governments that let western countries exploit their populations for cheap labor. I don’t think anyone would have a problem getting a board from a Japanese shaper who surfs.
don't be a clone
August 28, 2008The banner ads for the Lean Mean Surfing Machine say click to read more about this SENSATIONAL NEW DESIGN. That is the problem Jp has identified. GSI in it’s hubris is claiming invention of an established design already pioneered by the bros.
Anonymous
August 28, 2008hmmm a kook ripping off a kook who rips off customers….what a shame
Anonymous
August 28, 2008I say start a “no pop-outs” movement. How will novices and groms know the the ills of overseas boards, if we only talk about them on blogs and magazines. Call people out in the water, ask them how it feels to waste a session on an inferior board. Ask them if they purchased it at Surfride or at ….Surfride solana beach. Ask him if he prefers the small hands of a Thai child or that of a Chinese one in epoxy construction. (I hear they start them off in sweat shops alot earlier in Thailand which means better boards in the long run)
Also ask him what size SUP he plans on picking up, unless he is already on one. And make sure to give these guys all the sets waves, tell everyone to watch while they surf and then have an open discussion out in the water on how the pop-out board kept the surfer from maximizing the potential of the wave (include the surfer himself in discussion). I see the no pop-out stickers all over the place but we should really start giving those out to kids like candy. Actually thats a good idea, this Halloween hand out no pop-out stickers along with candy. Tell them its Volcom’s new underground brand that nobody knows about yet. Man we will see those things everywhere…
Viva la revolucion!!!
Anonymous
August 28, 2008Buy local, be a yocal.
Seriously though, why worry about something you cannot stop? It is an ideological opposition only.
Quite simply:
Make good boards, and they will come …
Pop out rubbish and you will come, and then go.
Anonymous
August 29, 2008I agree. But where have your shoes been made? Where has your new shiny cellphone been made? Why is you tshirt DESIGNED in the USA (how hard is it to actually design a tshirt?) but assambled, made, aso in mexico, honduras…. ?
The US economic system has been selling out itselfe and has become obsolete. Why are General Motors, GMC and Ford in such bad shape? Keep yourselve away from modern technologies and someone else will make the benefit.
A shame but the aweful truth.
Rob
Anonymous
August 29, 2008I don’t have a cell phone, & my rainbow sandals are made in San Clemente, whats your point? I don’t think its a matter of keeping yourself away from modern technoligies but rather being smart enough to not buy into half the crap that is being slammed in your face everyday (pretty much every piece of clothing at any major surf shop, cell phones with cameras/gps/internet/spellcheck/videogame/mp3…and POP-OUTS!!!)
anonymously yours
August 29, 2008Cell phones could easily be made in safe and environmental factories in the USA but then the cell phone companies wouldn’t be able to make their 3000% mark up.
It cost less than $2 dollars to make a pair of Nike running shoes in China that retail for $300. Stop being sheeple.
Anonymous
August 29, 2008The US economic system selling itself out?? What the f##K are you talking about? what does that mean?. The reason GMC (General motors is the same thing)and Ford have been hurting is because they make inferior goods to several foreign counterparts (Toyota, BMW, etc…) If they were up to par in terms of quality and other aspects such as “green” technology they would be doing much better. Its not a matter of being built overseas and imported into the USA (as much as you hard core conservatives would like to think), but whether or not the item being imported is of any quality what so ever. This is not the case with pop-out surfboard rubbish. These are not quality items, and worst of all many are over-priced compared to the handshaped US boards right next to them at the surf shops. So the blame has to lie directly on shoulders of the consumer. You would have to be an idiot to think that any surfboard coming out of Moonlight is inferior to a pop-out board. Maybe buy “selling itself out” you mean to foreign buyers, and with the weakened dollar this wouldn’t be a false assumption, but economically this would be good not bad. Money is money where ever its coming from. I’m sure you would have a tough time finding a custom shaper that would refuse to sell overseas if the money was put on the table. But GMC and Ford do not do this, they mostly sell in our domestic market, which is why they are hurting. So please rephrase your comment to “NOT selling itself out”. A quality item is a quality item whether its made in India or Detroit. So, drive a toyota, drink pacificos and buy quality surfboards. No more “made in the USA bullshit”, just make quality goods and only buy quality goods.
J.P. St. Pierre
August 29, 2008My Dad’s Toyota Tundra truck was made in the USA. Toyota and Honda are starting to buy up the closed GM factories to build hybrids.
Anonymous
August 30, 2008Speaking of Thailand,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122002433007083531.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
BANGKOK — Waves of antigovernment protests spread beyond Thailand’s capital Friday as clashes between police and demonstrators intensified, forcing the closure of several regional airports and disrupting rail services.
The escalating political confrontation threatens to destabilize the popularly elected government of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and could begin to undermine the country’s economy, especially the vital tourism sector, which is vulnerable to any prolonged disruption of air travel.
Mark Kelly
April 6, 2010Please remove this thread. If you look at the design is it not similar. We use 10oz fiberglass as the stringers this is the point of difference. I sent you an email a year or longer ago and have had no response. I don’t think this thread does you guys any good throwing shit is never a great strategy.
Cheers
Kel
Anonymous
April 6, 2010i think it does a world of good, you f##kin’ kook!
your boards suck & aren’t even worth being used as a coffee table. oh, you used 10oz glass for the stringers? whoopty-doo! the fundamental elements of the design are still the same! a thief AND a liar! cool…
maybe you’ve had no response b/c you’re not worth their time. while you’re sitting behind your desk punching numbers & figuring out who to steal your next design from, the moonlight guys are busy glassing quality surfboards built by people who actually surf.
and, unlike you, they don’t exploit children.
what a farkin’ kook…
Anonymous
April 6, 2010Firts off, fuck pop outs! Secondly, karmas a bitch Shawn! You know what’s up, don’t play stupid. As well, the creation of parabolic rails on a longboard is NOT ambrose’s! He is mearly the first one who exposed it and utilized in his shapes, period! All other thoughts are tunneled and ignorant to this fact…
Anonymous
April 6, 2010Kel you can’t have it both ways. You want to use surfy surfy to get ideas then complain when you get called out. Too bad.
Just because the Noosa locals bent over for you don’t expect the same from a blog dedicated to local handshapes. Suck it up and be a man.
Anonymous
April 6, 2010There are now 3 surf companies using the name Quadzilla
selistina
August 11, 2010wanna know about global industries like telecommunication’s,crude oil’s and more just giving a
CLICK
thank you.
Anonymous
September 2, 2010wow this ones got legs?! 2 + years later . you know in the grand scheme of things I make toys for a living , and manage to make most of my customers happy, some even get magic from my hands.
in the age of the internet tough guy, I know at the end of the day that I give every board I make , my best effort with my 30 years experience building boards the last 20+ for a living. I try and have my own look and feel , at reasonable prices, and realize 16000 or so boards later that I can’t please everyone. and I can live with that. there a bunch of other guys like me out there struggling to make a living making boards, go support one of them , if your not into my trip. No need to support junky pooltoy popout companies that give nothing back to the sport and culture of surfing
just my opinion – if you don’t like it – I don’t care — s.a.
Anonymous
June 22, 2011Parabolic rails are only usefull in longboards when the stringers apex at the nose. without this the board has only basic ‘folding flex’ good in a short board but slow on a long board Why? well Hang ten.. no apex = beyond flat flex = less speed on return. We know cause we surf..
Anonymous
June 23, 2011Give it up already.
Anonymous
December 31, 2011Anonymous said…
“Parabolic rails are only usefull in longboards when the stringers apex at the nose. without this the board has only basic ‘folding flex’ good in a short board but slow on a long board Why? well Hang ten.. no apex = beyond flat flex = less speed on return. We know cause we surf..””
How many Parabolic longboards have you made there anonymous ? hmmmm the voice of authority eh? have a nice day…
Anonymous
March 9, 2012Mark Kelly blows goats!