Seaweed Surfboard Shaper

The detrimental environmental impact of standard polyurethane based foam surfboards is well documented and with only one UK supplier delivering standard blanks to Jersey (Channel Islands), Charlie has had to be creative to maintain the ethos of sustainability behind his surf craft construction. Charlie’s first notable foray into eco-surf craft construction was a surfboard made from recycled wine corks. Later, his much celebrated project using an invasive seaweed as part of a board build caught the attention of some of the world’s largest surf brands and global surf magazines. More recently he was invited by the World Surf League to build a board for an exhibition heat for one of the stops on tour. Charlie forages seaweed from the beach, drying it before crushing it into a powder. Once mixed with chemicals it’s poured into a custom wooden mould secured with ratchet straps. The resulting foam 'blank' has a tinge of green and is slightly softer than regular foam, but it works perfectly and has significantly less impact on the environment.