x Lost RNF '96 – Futures 2 + 1

For twenty years, the surf industry was stuck in a performance-oriented design rut, until Matt Biolos experimented with different variations of the fish in ’94 and ’95 for himself, Chris Ward and Cory Lopez. These designs formed the building blocks for a revolution in performance hybrids. “I’d never had so many surfers and shapers asking: ‘What do you surf?’” The RNF ’96 surfboard designs that the teenagers Chris and Cory took to the North Shore – leaving an indelible mark on the surfing world – were immortalised in the influential 1997 surf film *5’5” X 19 ¼*. 

The key feature of Matt’s fish boards is that they are performance-oriented and inspired by MR’s competitive twin fins from the 1970s and 1980s, with relatively narrow tails designed for shredding – not just in small waves but in waves of all shapes and sizes. Most fish boards are largely based on the wide tails of 1970s kneeboards, which, whilst they generate speed, never quite match the performance level of modern shortboards. In the name of better surfing and better surfboards, Matt has devoted the last 25 years to board building to create a better board that remains true to, but is not exactly the same as, the RNF ’96 versions. “Following extensive testing by Kolohe, Coco, Ian Crane, Crosby Cola and other ‘guys’, including myself, in the final months of 2020, we are very confident that the RNF ’96 will perform beyond expectations as an all-round, rip-able funboard for surfers of all levels.” – Matt Biolos