Australia
We are kicking off the 30th year of the Bonzer 5 Fin in Australia. Juan Twycross and the crew at Rhino Laminating have graciously invited us back for another round of ‘Bonzer madness’; fins and more fins.

I will be shaping there from April 2nd to about April 23rd.
For information and ordering contact Juan at Rhino Laminating

Last year’s run was extremely successful. The guys at the factory really embraced the Bonzer Project, and we built some beautiful boards. In the year since I was there, they have kept the ball rolling with great glass work, and with Mike Psillakas finish shaping, custom and stock Bonzers. Finish shaping Bonzers is a lot more than ‘fluffing’. The concaves and the Elevated Wing components require great attention to detail, and Mike has really clued himself on them. We feel very fortunate to be connected with the Rhino crew, and I’m looking forward to getting back with the boys and creating “the best batch yet”

France, Portugal and England
The approximate shaping dates for these legs of the tour are:

• France:  UWL Workshop May 6th to 17th / For information and ordering contact Renaud and Benoit at Benoit at <benoit@uwl-surfboards.com>
• Portugal: May 21st to 31st / For information and ordering contact Manila at <manilasb@hotmail.com>
• England: Sometime in September / For information and ordering contact Guy Penwarden at <houseofbonzer@hotmail.com>

We will post additional information on each stop in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks again to all that make this possible.
Peace,

Malcolm and Duncan

Australia – Rhino Laminating

France – UWL

Portugal

England

Peace and Love,
Malcolm

MC
JacobIan Malcolm — Jacob — Ian

I tried to give it a go last year, but just wasn’t able to pull together the 2012 rant. I was too angry about much of what was going on to put anything constructive together. I’ve simmered down enough this year to at least string a few thoughts together.

“What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?”  Nothing, absolutely nothing at  all.  I used to pray for peace. Now I demand it, or at least I insist that it seriously be considered. We seem to be living in an age in which we are addicted to having enemies. We have them abroad as well as here at home. Here’s a thought. “When we all do better, we all do better.” This seems a bit trite at first, but take a couple of minutes and contemplate it.

If you extrapolate this idea from the micro to the macro, the domestic to the global, you will find that it is quite a multidimensional concept. What  is an economy for? Are we to serve it, or is it to serve our society as a whole? What if we weren’t spending billions of dollars a month on foreign wars, occupations and weapons development? What if we stopped defunding arts, music, and physical education programs in K-12 schools?  How about halting the movement to cut teachers’ salaries and the drive to privatize our education system?  What if we weren’t shackling our young people with enormous student debt? This debt now surpasses the total credit card debt of the entire US. What if our health care and health insurance industries were not driving people to the poorhouse? Then there are the issues of the bank bailouts and home foreclosures, our condoning and practice of torture (see the Bradley Manning case) and the big magilla of climate change, along with the need to develop a greener economy. I’ll pull up the flaps and stop there. The point is that if we thoughtfully examine the basic premise upon which we are organizing our society, it becomes clearly apparent that we are in need of major changes.

The problem is that we lack the collective will, knowledge and compassion to take focused action. The consciousness of peace is essential to this process of change. Within this mindful field of energy there is wisdom and open ended thought beyond the lower forms of judgment. We have to have the courage to  entertain challenging ideas; ideas that we may never have considered before. A close look at the system shows that it is rigged, and not in our favor. Are we going to just stare at the back of the person in front of us and blindly march to the tune of the corporations and bought off political ‘leaders’, or are we going to open our minds and take a stand?

Jonathan Kozal, one of our foremost thinkers on education, says, “superb education is the root of change in society”. One doesn’t have to think too conspiratorially to see that the direction of our educational system is headed to a narrowing of parameters, with the intent of training worker bees. This is especially true in the lower income areas of our country. Superb education that produces creative individual thinkers, is not beneficial to the corporate idea of an orderly society. Fundamental to an invigorated educational process is the need to decouple political ideology from facts. Facts, by their nature, are not political in and of themselves. We are now at a time in our culture when almost everything is politicized. This has created an environment in which truth and objectivity are moving targets. Everything is not relative, and every one’s opinion is not equal. Some viewpoints are actually more informed that others. The mantra of “that’s just your opinion”, is indicative of a climate in which outright lying is just shrugged off.

It’s time to take fate by the throat and remove ourselves from the false narratives of ‘us verses them’, ‘we’re all on our own’, and the big daddy of them all, American Exceptionalism. There is much to be said about this, but basically we must realize that from the individual to the geopolitical, we are all in this together. We need to get with the program and give it a serious go. What can it hurt? Heck, I’ll bet we even make quite a few friends along the way.

I’d like to send us forth into 2013 with some inspiring words and energy via  Cornel West (1:02:15 to 1:18:28). He is one of the premier intellectuals, and social thinkers of our time. His writings and speeches are well worth looking into. He’s got the street cred to tell it like it is. Please have a listen. The winds of change are upon us.

Peace, Love, and Light,
The Campbell Clan

The Bonzer 5 will turn 30 this year, and still has some frontiers to cross. Its full potential has not nearly been realized. The fact remains that very few top level surfers and shapers have seriously experimented with it. Only time will tell if this will change. In the mean time I’ll remain behind the curtain and attempt to improve my shaping. The ‘work’ is what is important. For Duncan and I the Bonzer is an assignment for a lifetime, and we intend to play it out. Many thanks to all of you who have, and continue to enjoy the Bonzer Ride.

Peace and Love to all for the Holidays and beyond,
Malcolm

Things Is Cool: Why Café Haleiwa?

Jacob Campbell: It’s been an outstanding offer that I do a show at the family’s Café. I’ve wanted to see more surfing on the walls in here. I remember coming in as a kid, years ago, and seeing all of the older Bonzer imagery. So, to also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Bonzer surfboard design, I wanted to create some artwork that was related to my dad and Duncan’s visual history, in a sense.

T.I.C.: Well, since you brought it up… When I mentioned to our friend, and a longtime Bonzer devotee, Tino Ramirez, that you and I were going to be discussing your show, he kind of half-jokingly told me to ask whether you considered this “surf art.”

J.C.: Yeah, I’d say it is, but it’s almost in reaction against what is popularly considered surf art.

T.I.C.: Which is…?

J.C.: You know, the very groovy, you-know-it-when-you-see-it, flowy, pastel-y, everything’s cool, surfing art, which has a nice look and I appreciate it; a lot of it’s done really well. But I wanted to try and create some drawings that were starkly opposed to that kind of look and feel.

Read the whole interview HERE

Left to right; Pierre, Josselin, Yann, and Benoit.

To order contact Manila:
manilasb@hotmail.com
ou +351 917893379

Regrettably Duncan and I never had the pleasure of meeting Terry Martin. I so wish we had. As it is all too often in life, there are just too many would’a, should’a, could’as. Have a look, and especially a listen to this short film.

Listen to the homespun, eloquent wisdom of a man who loved his craft.
Listen to the sound of a well worn saw.
Listen to the sound of an era.
And listen closely, as the sound of the planner fades like the whistle of a passing train.

May Peace, Love and Light be with Terry’s family and friends,
Malcolm and Duncan

It’s no April Fools joke.  Malcolm is headed off on another shaping excursion for approximately the first half of April.  The port of call is UWL Workshop in La Rochelle France.

The exact dates will be posted soon.  Malcolm is looking forward to creating a new batch of Bonzers with Renaud, Thomas, Benoit, Josslin and the UWL crew.  We will be also getting a special assist from Tristan Mausse and Paul Lefevre, aka. The Lucky Bastards.

The high quality of  workmanship at UWL ensures that the boards Malcolm shapes will not only look beautiful, but will be strong as well.  It is very important to us, with troublesome economies and the cost of surfboards these days, that our boards are durable and provide enjoyment for the longest possible time. This years boards should be “the best batch yet”.

For orders and detailed information, contact UWL Workshop at:

contact@uwl-surfboards.com
contact@bonzer5-france.com
bonzer5-france.com
Tel. 05 46 27 00 27

Paix,
Campbell Brothers Surfboards

New trailer for Mark Jeremias and John Smart’s upcoming 2012 film, The Tyler Warren Experiments, which features a couple of Bonzers under Tyler’s feet. Stay tuned to their website for more info on the release date, as well as tour dates.

http://www.thetylerwarrenexperiments.com