More Verve

Above water shots by Tom Woods.

Whenever the waves get a little more punchy I gravitate towards my Twin Keel Verve.

Logging with Jonathon

Recently I was down at Torquay and happenned to read 'Jonathon Livinston Seagull' which I enjoyed and was touched by. It impressed upon me the importance of rising above the mundane and following your heart.

Angela Raab took these shots a few months back and the segulls remind me of Jonathon. I can relate to the passion Jonathon has of flying. As a surfer I am consumed by my passion... life makes more sense when I'm surfing. And there's something so beautiful about logging... drifting, swept along by the wave. Maybe its a little bit like flying.

Valla Volta

I ride my Volta more regularly than any other board I own right now. It really makes surfing fun in mediocre waves, especially when they're a bit full. Above pic: Angela Raab

Above shots of the Volta by Patrick Trefz. This beachbreak is just down the rode from where I live and was quite fun this day, especially since there was only 5 of us out along the entire beach.

Agave Shape & Glass

A few more pics of the Chambered Agave board my father Paul Joske finished recently. A beautiful looking timber and very light. I'll post some more shots of the finished board soon.

Summer loggin..

Earlier this year Sage made me a log and at the moment I have really been enjoying slowing down and just feeling the slide.

This image was taken by Ben from the website In Byron Bay today.

Logging at Dusk

I love heavier, single fin, traditional style Logs and I love surfing from afternoon to night, watching the colours float across the sky between waves.

Pics: Angela Raab

Tom Woods

Friend of Valla Surfboards... photographer Tom Woods. Tom amazes me... every time we shoot he always seems to get some sweet shots. The surf can be mediocre and you can surf bad and he'll still get something. Tom's also a really genuine guy.

Check out his website and blog.

Above pic by Angela Raab.

Brett Caller x 8'9" Alaia

This is Brett on his 8'9" Traditional Valla Alaia. I was out this day and I can remember paddling over the shoulder of the left where he is hanging five on his alaia. Very cool.

Brett seems to be able to ride any board, and ride it well. And every time I see him he's getting better. A talented guy.

Agave Board Construction

Here's some construction pics of an Agave board my Father painstakingly crafted for Peter Fillmore who lives at Apollo Bay. A lot of work but the finished board came out gorgeously. I'll post some more pics soon.

Budding Paulownia

Dad harvested his Paulownia trees a few months ago now and they're piled up in a corner of our factory. They are out of the sun and supposed to be drying yet they keep budding and sending out new growth. Every week Dad walks around and pulls the new growth off.

Wise Words...

My father always placed great importance on the bottom turn which I think has affected my Brother and my surfing.

I'm riding a stringerless styrofoam Volta quad which has a parallel outline through the back end allowing longer drawn out turns. The shot was taken by filmaker/photographer Patrick Trefz a couple months back now. Check out Patrick's blog here and his website here.

Alaia Fun with Eli

My friend Eli Jacobs called in a couple months back and we took out some Alaia's at Nambucca Main Beach. Eli lives on the Gold Coast and rides his Alaia at Snapper and Greenmount when the desire takes him. I've seen him get some really sweet rides. Eli's in Hawaii right now hopefully having a ball and stroking into some solid ones.

Both Alaia's are 7'4" and based off boards my father (Paul Joske) saw in the Bishop Museum. Eli's board is made from Paulownia and I am holding a Red Cedar Alaia dad made for himself. The surf was chest high, sloppy, and bumpy this day and really hard work. Eli got some really good rides while I was struggling. In the end Dad's Alaia corked me in my bicep and I had to come in... I could hardly drive home and couldn't work for two days. Haha what a wimp.

Holga Pics

These are some random pics Angela Raab took with her Holga camera. Check out Angela's work at http://angelaraab.com/ I really like her stuff.

Stirling's New Ride

I recently finished a beautiful blood red Verve for my good friend Stirling a couple weeks ago. The five fin boxes allow for a quad, 2+1, and single fin setup.

I hope you're getting some sweet rides bro and hope to see you in the water on it again soon.

Lady Glide

This is Katherine Hall, proud owner of 2 Valla longboards (Yellow 9'0" & Blue 8'6"). Katherine's only been surfing for a couple of years and as you can see from the pics she's loving it. I got to surf with Katherine and her husband Joe a while back at Scotts Head and it was great to see how quickly she was improving and how much fun she was having.