In an article in STAB magazine, Julien Wilson talked about the seven best boards in the world, and two of those seven were LOST/MAYAHEM boards, so I've translated an excerpt from that article for you to take a look at.
Julian Wilson's 7 Best Boards in the World
Pro surfers are board ambassadors. They're paid to rave about a particular product or service. Every piece of feedback reads like a press release.
Julian Wilson is a free thinker.
He found that he was being burdened by shapers and board manufacturers, sacrificing $100,000 a year to find boards provided by sponsors that he was happy to ride.
Imagine if you were a WCT surfer going for the world title, you'd want the board you wanted to ride to be the best in the world, the board that best suits you. Julian works with three shapers throughout the year (Mayhem, Channel Islands, and JS). These shapers create a list of board models that Julian needs to own. The list is not based on commercial data on the most popular boards in the world today. World Tour insiders say Julian is a surfer with no weaknesses, so building a board specifically for him is all the more important. Julian is one of the few surfers who can communicate performance and a good arsenal.
(Julian) "Four years ago I was sponsored by Luke Shot (LSD), but now I only work with three other people year-round. I'm in an environment where there's mutual respect between the shapers and they know what I'm thinking. As long as they want to make me the best boards they can, things will go well."
As you may have already noticed, Julian, who loves Mayhem boards, didn't ride a Mayhem-shaped board in any lower competitions last year. Julian said, "That was a big decision. What happened that year was that I gave Matt (Mayhem) a ton of information about what I was thinking and what kind of board I wanted to ride, and in the end the board he created had too much input and wasn't what I had in mind. It was because I had packed in too many requests. However, a few years ago, I think it was my first year on the tour, and when I made it to the semi-finals in a lower competition, he built a board that he thought I would be able to ride well on the lower , and it clearly was. (More on this later in this article.)
(Julian) "I can confidently say there are seven best boards in the world. They are the seven best boards I have ever found. It's hard to rank them because each one is suited to different conditions. Looking ahead to the year ahead, I'll be riding whichever board is best suited to the terrain and waves."
For better understanding, Julian weighs 80 kg and is 183 cm tall.
So, starting with Julian's 7th place ranking,
7. Channel Islands Fred Rubble (Ridden 5'11″x 18″ 5/8x 2″ 3/8) 6. The JS Lowdown (Ridden 6″0 x 18″ 3/4′ x 2″5/16′ – 27L) 5. Channel Islands Proton (Ridden 6'0″x 18″ 5/8x 2″ 3/8)
4. The Mayhem “Driver” (Ridden 6’0″x 18.63″x 2.25)
The Driver is Julian's choice when the waves aren't too good and he needs to wear a jersey.
He rides the Dirver, which is a little shorter than the F1-Stub because it offers a bit more float and is a bit wider in the front foot area, which gives it a sharp butter knife-like function. "It's super easy to ride in overhead sessions, and I also ride the Driver in slightly crumpled waves," Julian says. "I think it works really well on the backside too."
Wait! A different board in a different direction? Yep!!!
Julie told us some information, so that's why she said, "Yes! " ←Nishii *This is important.
Speaking of which, during the US Open, JW often rides waves towards the backside with DRIVER!
Contrary to the story about riding Driver when the waves are bad: "This photo of macaroni from an Indian boat trip two years ago was Driver.
(You remember this photo, right?) It was a very clean wave, about 4 or 5 feet in size. The Driver just barely held on to the bottom of the wave, and you captured a really beautiful off-the-lip photo. But I don't think it would work in bigger waves. It was kind of on the edge of the bottom of the wave. If you shorten this Driver by half an inch, you'll have a little more control overall, and with those fins attached, you'll have even more control, and the boat will change in a good way." (← Nishii *Those fins are JW fins)
3. The JS Forget Me Not (Ridden 6″0.5′ x 18″ 3/4′ x 2″3/8′ – 26.8L) 2. The JS Monsta (Ridden 6″0 x 18″3/4′ x 2″3/16′ – 26.8L)
What is Julian's number one best board???
1. The Mayhem F1 Stub
(Ridden 6'0.5″x 18.63″x 2.30)
It's a money maker. Julian has had more success on this board than anyone else. He's ridden this board more than any other board in the last three years.
"I loved this board from the first time I started riding it," says Julian of the F1-stub. The two Mayhem models that most pros order are the Driver and the F1-stub. The Driver, as we learned above, is for when the waves are less than perfect, while the F1-stub is Julian's prized board for the good waves. It's also Julian's weapon of choice in battle. "I used the F1-Stub last year at Snapper. I also rode it at Bells, at J-Bay the year I made it to the quarterfinals on my first tour, and at Lower, where I made it to the semifinals for the first time. Over the past three years, I've had more success on the F1-Stub than any other board. It works really well in the pocket. If the wave is right, you can make any line you want on the wave, and if the wave is right, the board doesn't get in the way at all. The F1-Stub works really, really well in good, clean, lippy waves. It's the board I've ever owned that allows me to do anything I want to do, which is my ultimate goal. I just feel like I can get airs everywhere."
A word from Matt "MAYHEM" Biolos, who shaped the board for Julian.
"The F1-Stub was the first board we started working on together. He achieved the most great results with that board during the qualifying season. I still have that board. It's 6'1" x 18.56" x 2.25. We continued to exchange information and have been building F1-Stubs with very similar forms. I think the end result will be 6'0.5" 18.63" 2.30. He uses the F1-Stub in powerful waves like snappers, lowers, and walls at the WT competition venues. At the WT competition in Portugal (2012), he rode the F1-Stub from the quarter final, advanced to the semi final, and won his first victory in the final. He showed great surfing in the semi final. In the final, his board broke on the first wave that earned him points, so he went to the beach to get his spare board, the JS, and got the second point and won! He also won the Breaker Barry Pro with F1-Stub.
"He says he uses the Driver in junk waves or waves that don't last very long. That means waves that need a little more lift. The Driver is usually 6'0 18.63x 2.25 with a fuller rail than the F1-Stub."
"He also won the 2012 US Open with a 6'0" 18.63x 2.25 driver. His driver was a little shorter then, with a rounded, short nose."
"I have that board too. He calls me and asks me to make more boards. He knows I'm always available if he needs me."
Nishii: *After all, 'F1-STUB' is the best for Julian!
For more information about "F1-STUB", click here!
