G Skate Breakdown with Britt & Dane

Listen to Britt Merrick and Dane Gudauskas breakdown the back story of the new G Skate design, as well as what you can expect from this model and the fins that were designed for it.

You can see he G Skate in action here from the recent Demo Tapes' Hawaii edit. During their month long stay in Hawaii, it was pumping nearly the entire time—allowing them to feel out a range of possibilities with this shorter railed design. As you'll see, this skatey style board allowed them to draw some very creative lines.

The goal of the G Skate project between the G Bros and Britt was to create something fresh feeling that turned well in good surf but skated with ease through the not-so-good stuff. There was one major stipulation during its development: the G Skate had to still perform at the highest levels possible. They achieved this by shortening their typical shortboard rail line by 5” and adding curves and contours in key places that would keep them on top of the water and not hinder their turns in any way. Adding a 2 + 1 (twin plus trailer) fin set-up tied the whole concept together.

The G Skate has a lot of get up and go speed thanks to its light single to double concave, low entry rocker, wide point forward—and its contemporary shortboard rails provide all the precision and control you could ever want.

This stoke-infused collaboration also yielded an all-new Merrick / Gudauskas 2 + 1 fin set for the G Skate, and they also found that the AMT (2 + 1) fin set up works very well. The purpose of this twin plus trailer fin set-up was to offer the beautiful “free feel” of a twinnie yet have the refined control of a thruster—which is critical in creating a board that accommodates the broad spectrum of approaches between all three G Bros. For those that prefer traditional thruster set-ups, their favorite 3-fin set will work well in this design—giving surfers twice the options and value.

The G Skate serves as a strong utility piece in any quiver where fun and performance are the goal. Ride this board 3” to 6” shorter and the same thickness as your CI Pro.

Visit your local surf shop to learn more, or check the G Skate out here: https://cisurfboards.com/products/g-s...

For stock dimensions, what the surfers were riding, and who the filmers are please see the credits in the film.

Edit by Sean Lesh

Skateboard Book images are by William Sharp. Title is Back in the Day. You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Back-Day-Mini-...

Dane Guaduaskas: “The G Skate was originally inspired by skateboard outlines from the 1970s and the surf skate approach of guys like Tony Alva and Jay Adams blasting out of pools and driving through turns. There was something stylistically with the boards they were riding that just seemed to fit the surface of the curves they were riding, and we wanted to feel what an outline like that on an open wall of water—hoping that it translated into the same flow and approach they carried. Through working with Britt, and the feedback from my brothers, we continued to refine our original skateboard-like outline by integrating a wing off the back and pulling in the tail for more control through turns and tight transitions. For fin set-up, we landed on the 2 plus 1 (twin + trailer) combo. It was an ideal blend between the speed and freedom of riding a twin fin and the reliable control of a thruster. The 2 plus 1 proved to be an even greater asset in marginal surf where generating speed from the board came easy, allowing us to fly over flat spots and accelerate through turns in gutless parts of the wave.”

Tanner Guduaskas: “It was incredible to see some of the CI team riding the G Skate in Hawaii, adapting their own styles into the design. The G Skate always looked attached, no matter they were wanting to go on the wave. I think with Pat, Dane and myself, we all surf so differently that the board was always going to have to be a design that could be adapted to easily. And that’s pretty much what we witnessed in Hawaii when the other CI guys got on it. So, it would seem to me that the board turned out to be a very relatable design to wide group of people with varying styles and approaches.”

Pat Gudauskas: "Skate is a reflection of our work together trying to create a single design that would suit all of our individual styles and needs. Not an easy thing to do for how different we all surf, but Britt and the CI family did an incredible job of taking our ideas and refining them into this super rad design. The purpose of the film from our eyes was to bring everyone into our family’s culture, which includes: surf hard; stay creative; and enjoy your time in the water to the max.”