"Don't get a Walden board" this guy out in the water grumbles. The killing my vibe Walden hater continued saying, "I've heard from so many people they just fall apart. They just delaminate. Steve doesn't even shape his boards anymore."
I looked at my girlfriend from my surfer club, wide-eyed, and slowly started paddling away on my Walden Mega Magic model towards a set rolling in. I realized this guy and his friend were just trying to promote their local board shop. Boards don't typically delaminate unless you leave them baking in the sun and don't take good care of them. My boards have all lasted 20+ years. I take care of them. I don't even want to repeat the name of the shaper (who was with the guy who was complaining going on and on about his boards) they were promoting. Listen, I'm sure they are great boards too. But those two guys were killing my Walden vibes on an exciting and fun morning for me and my friend Sarah!
It was our Walden Surfboard board demo day! My friend and I paddled out after our regular surf meetup time to test out two different Walden surfboards from their shop in Ventura. We paid $40 each to take out a board for the day (fun fact, your $40 demo goes towards the cost of a board if you purchase one. I got my glass fins from them for $35 once they applied that demo board rental fee). My friend got the 9'0' Magic board, and I tried out the 8'0' Mega Magic board. We were both in the market for new surfboards, and I was convinced my next board would come from Walden Surfboards. I wanted my first slow rider long-board nose-riding slice of heaven for the slow Santa Barbara and Ventura point breaks. I had custom-made my old 8'4' fun board at age 16 from South Coast Surf Shop. It was a great fun board for the faster and harsher beach breaks in San Diego. I could still get my short boarding vibe, pummel down bigger waves fast, and get my turns in. It was a perfect crossover board for me into longboarding as I grew up as a shortboarder and mainly short-boarded my entire upbringing.
Since moving North to central California, my old South Coast board was all I rode for the longboarding point break waves. But I needed a serious upgrade. I took great care of my old board. To this day it is a solid board, and people love the rainbow spray-painted design. It still rides great, but as I've aged, I have realized that I need something floatier and cruisier for the waves up north.
I got 21 solid years out of my first longboard. I never left it in the sun. I hosed it down after every surf session and put her back in her board bag. I didn't ride her as much as my other boards, but she still got a solid amount of riding time, especially as I got older and started surfing at slow rolling point breaks. When I posted a photo of that board with my surf club girls, I had an old high school boyfriend message me a pic of the original design I saw at South Coast Surf Shop, which I had them duplicate for my custom board. He said, "I can't believe you are still riding that board!" She's a gem. Truly. But my San Diego gun board days are over.
I'm a Walden girl now! The second I slipped my hand into the handle of the Mega Magic demo board and easily carried it down to the beach I knew I was sold. I paddled out faster than ever, stood up, and carved back and forth down a wave on my backside. I'm goofy, and I have always retained more of a shortboard riding style on fun boards and longboards. I love carving up and down a wave. I'm obsessed. I'm less interested in mastering a long-boarding nose riding style. When I go snowboarding, I love carving down the face of a bowl back and forth and finding my groove. Surfing on my backside of all the rights in Ventura and Santa Barbara took me a while to get used to. I was a purely "go left goofy girl" growing up in San Diego.
When I got on the Mega Magic, I was carving away on my backside SO easily and SO smoothly. That board design is meant for me at this stage and age of my life. After my first few waves, I switched boards with my friend to the 9'0' board. It was good. Floaty. Easy to paddle. But the 9'0' was a more traditional longboard. She was a bit narrower than the Mega Magic, and in my opinion, was not as easy to paddle on as the 8'0' super floaty Mega Magic. The added width and thickness of the Mega Magic board is just so comfortable for me. As someone who has consistent shoulder and neck issues from a few herniated discs, I now look for comfort in new boards. And the Mega Magic was like a godsend for me!
Here she is! My new board. I'll post another article about her design inspiration and process. It was quite a journey to solidify her look and to find the perfect fabric inlay. I bought a set of clear Walden glass fins that make her rainbow fade pop even more. She's perfect in my eyes! She's my new dream board hopefully, for another 21 years.
I added a handle (recommended for the Mega Magic's extra width an thickness)
A rainbow 🌈 fade melt on the back and rails.
Demo boards. 9'0' Magic vs. 8'0' Mega Magic
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