Imaginary Surfing in New York

We partnered with W Hotels on a beautiful 6'6 egg surfboard, perfect for the waves in Rockaway and shaped by Brooklyn's David Murphy! We chatted with David about "eco-friendly" shaping and favorite post-surf eats in the interview below. The board will be auctioned off to support Rockaway rebuild non-profit Graybeards. Proceeds from the One Last Wave cocktail party at W Union Square will also be donated.

How to get your hands on the board:
1) Visit W Hotel Union Square and snap a photo of the board
2) Share on Instagram and tag #WSURF with your bid (min. $600)

If you're not in Instagram, feel free to e-mail wnychappenings@whotels.com

What got you into shaping and where's your studio? 
I started shaping Alaias. They’re modeled after traditional Hawaiian surf craft, really just a plank of wood with some fancy contours. They’re the fastest thing in the water, but also hard to ride so I eventually started trying to translate some of that speed into foam and fiberglass. We know you like to experiment.

What's the strangest board you've made yet and how does it ride? 
Ha, I’ve made some real duds. I made one 4’11 that worked in anything up to 10’. It had small bonzer fins and a funky rail that stuck really well but it would do a hard turn and then want to correct and go back the way it was already going. It was actually really fun for me to ride. Just so bizarre. My shop assistant is geeking out on it right now.

Your boards are considered eco-friendly. How so? 
Let’s be honest, when you make something, unless it’s compostable it’s probably not really eco-friendly. That said, I do my best to use reclaimed or recycled materials, but more importantly, I make the most durable high performance boards possible with the materials available. The longer a board lasts, and the more durable it is, the longer we put off sending it to the landfill. I use high grade fiberglass with similar flex to carbon fiber and build layers of cork or wood into my boards to create unique and stronger flex patterns as well as vacuum bagging the glass layers to strengthen the glass. I also use epoxy and foam that don’t emit VOC’s in the productions process and cork. Cork dampens vibration and gives a smother ride, but the cork trees also become CO2 sinks when they’re harvested and that helps scrub the ozone layer. The wood I use in my wood boards comes from reclaimed NYC water tanks. It’s amazing wood with a lot of character and comes from old growth 1500 year old redwood trees that just don’t exist anymore because they’ve all been logged. I also recycle all of my foam scraps. It’s really just what I have to do personally to feel good about making things. 

What type of conditions is this board destined for? 
It’s a nice wide egg. Probably one of my most traditional shapes. They make really nice turns and hold in on steeper waves. It’s a really versatile board for most conditions on the east coast. I’d ride it with a 7” flex fin.

Rockaway Taco or Caracas? 
Rockaway taco, but I love arepas.

Shortboard or Longboard or (fill in the blank)? 
I mostly ride shortboards or finless unless it’s small, then I either ride a finless board or a longboard. I love the ease of longboards now that I’m getting a little older. If the waves are dumping on shore, or the barrels are too small for me to fit in I grab a hand plane and body surf. Bodysurfing might be more fun than standup surfing, but nobody would believe you unless they tried it in good waves. You get barreled non stop. Sunrise or sunset session? Sunrise. Wind is usually better. Plus it’s nice to feel like you’ve already had a full day before everyone else even drinks their morning coffee.