It's been a big twelve months for Gold Coast shaper Gary McNeil. The one time production manager at Nev and JS has spent the last six years running a much smaller operation, Formula Energy, only to part ways with his business partner last year. Unencumbered with the politics of business he now concentrates on the business of design creating the best surfcraft he can for test pilot Dave Rastovich and anyone else who waltzes through his factory door.

Swellnet recently chatted to Gary about his new label.

Swellnet: You spent six years with Formula Energy, when did the change happen?
Gary McNeil: October last year.

Is it the first time you've been on your own shaping?
Not really. I mean, I've always been on my own anyway even though I worked for other people. I've always done my own boards. The whole reason I ended up working for others is they approached me, it's the only reason I went down that path.

But there were other people involved in your last company?
There were two other partners involved.

And this time it's just you, what's the new label called?
Gary McNeil Concepts.

Looking on your website you've already created a new array of models, are they similar to the designs you've worked on in the past?
No, not really...call it the next evolution. I mean the planshapes might look similar but everything underneath them – the rockers, the curves, the materials – have changed. Everything's progressed a bit.

You're still a fan of the wide point being pushed forward.
I don't know if it's so much as me liking them but the demand for them. The original one, which I called the Alien and is now the Entity, I designed in 2006 with Dave Rastovich. He had an old Dick Van that he liked and another board of mine he liked, so he asked to put the front of the DVS and the back end of mine together, and that's what we got. Most of the boards you see on my website started like that, sitting down on Dave's deck figuring out different things, working with templates and mucking around. What you see is what we came up with.

You just mentioned Dave's name. He's been with you a few years now.
Yeah, he's ridden my boards for years and he came with me during the changeover.

He's helping you design the new range of boards?
Yeah a lot of the new stuff was partly designed by him. It's really a collaboration between myself and Dave. Mixing old boards and new boards, and also old materials and new materials.

When it comes to making boards do you consider yourself more a designer or a craftsman? Are you better with your hands or your head..?
Well it's funny, I get called a craftsman quite a bit but maybe that's just because I'm getting older! However I think of myself as a designer, I like to design new stuff, so maybe it's 50/50. I like designing new stuff, that's what keeps this job challenging.

The reason I ask is an old shaper recently said to me that he's a terrible craftsman but a good designer. It surprised me but also got me thinking about how shapers approach their art.
There are a lot of new shapers like that. The new wave of shapers are basically just designers because everything is computer generated. It's a bit sad that there's not many that could pick up a planer and know what to do with it.

Back to your new boards: what technology and materials are you using?
They're similar to what I've done in the past – carbon rails – except I'm using different carbon. I'm lucky that I landed in the factory I did. I'm right near Selwyn and Hilton van Wyk, the guys that used to make Salomon surfboards. Remember those boards?

Yeah. The old blue ones.
Yeah. Well I'm in that factory now and those guys are mad scientists when it comes to creating and pushing new technology. These guys are at the cutting edge. They glass all the new epoxies for everybody: Al Merrick, JS...basically anyone who gets epoxies sends them here. They're also working with carbon, new age technology and new age cloth. These guys are the best around.

We switched over to the carbon and they asked: “Is that how you're doing it? Let's do it this way!” And they've begun making them a much better way. I'm lucky having these guys involved.

First time you've offered epoxy?
Yeah, I've never done them before. I've never been in a factory that could do them properly. Now I'm working with the guys who are the very best with epoxy so I'm offering epoxy boards. If a customer wants an epoxy I can do that for them.

How's the weight? Are they much lighter..?
They're definitely lighter. The foam is different, it's a different construction – so they're definitely lighter. It's a different feel, a more buoyant feel. For high performance surfing you can get away with a thinner board, that's for sure. I think it's 20% more buoyancy just in the foam alone. And then the epoxy resin has a bit more give in it, more bend, so it's a whole 'nother feel.

So you're noticing a difference in the way the boards are handling?
Yes, definitely. The feedback has been really good. Everyone has said the boards are going really fast. Between the new rockers I'm using and the technology those boys are putting in the boards have got more spring.

I thought Dave might've pushed for epoxies in the past?
Well Dave gets boards off me here and Dick van Straalen, and also Akila Aipa when he's in Hawaii. Akila went down the epoxy road for a while there, but I'm not sure if that's still going. Dave had a few epoxies but he snapped them all in front of the fin boxes.

Dave likes having boards that last, that's what he impressed upon me. He hates it when boards fall apart because it's a waste of materials. He wants a board that's gonna go good but that's also gonna handle the punishment he gives it. It's a challenge in itself to make him boards that hold up.

He's riding a few twin fins, and on a twin fin trying to hold the boxes in is a big ask because you've got big fins, a lot of surface area, so the boxes will crack but I've finally got around that. I've beefed up what we do to hold Dave's boxes in.

I've done a lot of twin fins this year. Probably the most twin fins I've ever done. I did this Rasta Torus twin and it went unreal. Everyone who's had one has said there's something going on with this board.

I imagine the twin fins would go well with the forward volume planshapes, as we were speaking about earlier. Are they offered in the planshape?
Well, you know, mine's probably a different evolution of that 'cos it's not as wide. Its more high performance based. I've done it as a twin and also as a quad and it works really well.

What other boards are you happy with at the moment?
There's the Rasta Torus twin, and the CV2 is the one that's jumping out of the gate at the moment. That CV2 has a lot of Dave's influence, it's got a bit of George Greenough in there, and a planshape that's similar to the Alien except a bit wider. It's kind of a fish without being a fish. I don't do many normal boards anymore. It's only guys from Indo or WA that want normal planshapes.

You seem to occupy a niche area of the market.
That's the idea. After working for everyone else: Handley, JS, and Nev, I knew I had to go in a new direction anyway. And it's what I like to do. The Byron Bay crowd help; if you ever go and surf the Pass you'll see what I mean. Everything that floats is out there and it's a melting pot of ideas and such left field stuff. It's really interesting to watch and also be part of the evolution of boards. It's definitely not stale, that's for sure.

OK, after talking design let's get a bit more superficial; your boards have always had distinctive artwork and that's something you've continued with the new label. Can you tell us about that?
I happened to meet this guy called Johnathon Quinton and he's a sacred geometry guru. I needed to change my art and change the look and I was fortunate to meet Johnathon. I've got a great collaboration happening with him, a lot of his artwork goes onto my boards, it's amazing, his stuff is really nice.

Check out Gary's Insta account for guilt free board porn.