Looking Back At Nev Future Shapes

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
The Rearview Mirror

Keen readers of Swellnet will notice we've recently run a few pictorial histories of old surf labels. First up was Gash Surfboards then Headworx. We toyed with the idea of calling the column 'Dead Surf Brands' but a quick bit o' research showed some brands still registered a pulse. Yeah they might be living a hermit life sold for pounds in the south of England - think Headworx and Hot Tuna - but they're alive nonetheless. So we dropped the moniker and stuck with 'The Rearview Mirror'.

Today's peek in the mirror is Nev Future Shapes, run by energetic ginger Nev Hyman and was the transition between his cottage operation, Odyssey, and his world dominating label, Firewire.

In 1972 Nev Hyman started shaping boards in his garage in Perth's southern suburbs before starting his own label the very next year. From 1973 to 1977 he shaped Odyssey Surfboads with Phil Usher and Bruce Smith. Then in 1978 he crossed the red desert, landing in Burleigh Heads were he opened Nev Hyman Surfboards.

Nev's early advertising efforts were equal parts enthusiasm and atrocious spelling. So it was no surprise he adopted the pidgen sounding 'Neva' in his taglines: Neva look back, Neva say Neva etc etc. Fella knew how to turn a weakness into a strength.

Nev slipped into the Queensland surf industry and took the forward thinking name 'Nev Future Shapes'. He began building a team from local (Craig 'Scat' Pitchers, Dan Adler, Munga Barry), interstate (Dog Marsh, Merrick Davis, Nick Wood), and overseas (Sunny Garcia) surfers.

With a keen eye for promotion Nev made his own VHS video, 'Munga Militia', which starred "Munga and the boyz" (there's that pidgen again!). He also parlayed Guiness World Records into marketing buzz. In 1994 he built the largest surfboard ever - see last pic - then had 47 people ride atop it on the Gold Coast (in 2005 he did a similar thing with Firewire but in California). After the event, the oversized board hung over his shop like a surfing version of the Big Pineapple.

In the early 90s Nev was among the pioneers of computer shaping, involving himself in the development of the APS3000 / AKU Shaper which is now industry standard. 'Pioneers get the arrows, settlers get the land' is the old saying and Nev copped his fair share of barbs, yet he was always open about his involvement. “I shaped the original board and I shaped it without a machine,” Nev defiantly told Tim Baker at Tracks in 1991. Subseqently many of his ads offered custom shaping: "Talk personally with Nev".

In 2004 Nev folded Nev Future Shapes 'cos the future really had arrived. A meeting with Bert Burger convinced him of that. Within the year they were making Firewire together...but that's a whole 'nother story.

See also: 'Nev Hyman: From mowing foam to building homes' because the Nev Train just keeps on rolling.

Comments

lost's picture
lost's picture
lost Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 4:07pm

A Christ Centred company ? Now there's something I didn't know. Got dropped from promo stuff pretty quickly by the looks of it.

surfstarved's picture
surfstarved's picture
surfstarved Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 4:26pm

Pieneapple - I see what you did there...

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 6:16pm

Nev has kinda resurrected the Nev logo on his firewire Hashtag model.

http://www.naturalnecessity.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9...

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 6:33pm

Yeah, he brought it back on his Nev House project too.

http://www.nevhouse.com/#header

I like that Nev House has so much gravitas, that it's addressing a very serious humanitarian issue, and he still uses the same logo from his board building days.

Unreal...

zenagain's picture
zenagain's picture
zenagain Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 7:54pm

I pretty much rode Nevs exclusively through the nineties. Still have a mint 6'5" back in Oz. Probably had less than a dozen surfs on it.

Wonder if it would be worth anything?

Love these rearview mirror articles.

rooftop's picture
rooftop's picture
rooftop Tuesday, 17 May 2016 at 10:53pm

Me too. But why do I feel embarrassed just looking at these ads?

Probably because I once thought they were the epitome of cool I guess. Now it gives me almost physical pain to look at them.

I know, I know, it's probably so out it's in again, but I just can't quite muster enough hipster spirit to embrace them.

phil-collins's picture
phil-collins's picture
phil-collins Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at 4:55pm

Some more or less info on the Nev House
http://architectureau.com/articles/surfing-design-duo-creates-cyclone-re...

Probably worth noting that Ken McBryde worked for Renzo Piano both in Italy and as the Project Architect on Aurora Place in Sydney. Renzo is a very good and thoughtful Italian Architect. It will be interesting to see how the project progresses.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at 4:58pm

See our recent Q&A with Nev about Nev House, Phil?

https://www.swellnet.com/news/talking-heads/2016/04/06/nev-hyman-mowing-foam-building-homes

Sounds like a versatile fellow, does old Ken.

S.J Michael's picture
S.J Michael's picture
S.J Michael Wednesday, 26 Apr 2023 at 1:53pm

I don’t believe it will as there too much that’s happened that should not have ever ever happened!… my wife and I personally experienced the same thing that he was called out on We have been waiting months for paper work and e wide our funds went into a trust fund account well I personally know it never happened plenty of e evidence to go with what I am writing. Best advise Be very careful

phil-collins's picture
phil-collins's picture
phil-collins Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at 5:40pm

Thank you for the link Stu, good reading as usual!
This area of disaster proof housing is nothing new but good on them for their efforts as it looks as though much time and research has been put into the project.
Fundamentally it is political and economic issue first, how Ken and Nev negotiate this is another matter.

wesley's picture
wesley's picture
wesley Thursday, 19 May 2016 at 7:31am

Hey speaking of atrocious spelling... What's up with "pionners"?!

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 19 May 2016 at 7:52am

Um...regional variation of 'pioneers'?

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Thursday, 19 May 2016 at 7:40am

I only realized those houses of Nevs have shutters that can open on all walls, that's pretty cool, that's what you want in a house in the tropics, maximum airflow.

Gra Murdoch's picture
Gra Murdoch's picture
Gra Murdoch Wednesday, 26 Apr 2023 at 2:26pm

Nev's a fricken champion.