Shapers Profile


Mark Thomson

The Krypt design team is headed up by Hydrodynamic Architect and master craftsman Mark Thomson.                 

Schooled in the art by masters like Bob Mc Tavish and George Greenough, Mark has a keen eye for innovation and an ability for creating and developing original ideas and designs. Backed up by his son Daniel Thomson,  a brilliant and naturally talented surfer Mark has always had the ultimate test pilot to extract the maximum performance from any design. Daniel is now following the family tradition as a Hydrodynamic Architect and is carving out the future as a respected and accomplished international designer under his TOMO brand.  

 

 

History

ide point, creating a noticeable increase in speed, lift  and hydro-planning sensation “.

I started shaping and my board making career in 1979. Working at Bare Nature in Byron Bay as ding fixer and sander I was slowly but surely developing my knowledge and skill base. I started working with a close friend  Gypo, who was shaping my boards at the time. We were always pushing it with design and there were many late nights talking and theorising design and pumping new boards out for the next mornings surf. We wanted to ride deeper in the tube than anyone else and wanted to surf super vertical and no idea at the time seemed to extreme or far out. It was an exciting time and Broken Head always seemed to barrelling and if we didn't like the boards we were on we would go straight back to the shaping room and either modify the design or just build another one over night and start again. One thing lead to another and I was soon shaping and building my own boards under the brand HOT & GLASSY from a little farm on the beach deep in the rainforest at Broken Head. One day I was showing my friend Bob McTavish a dual single fined laser zap design and Bob offered to teach me production shaping from his factory in the old cow bails on the hill at Lennox Head. This had an immediate impact on my shaping and HOT and GLASSY started to grow. This was one of the most incredible times of my life. Living in the rainforest creating beautiful equipment to surf the long perfect barrelling waves of the far north coast. It was a dream come true living heaven on earth with my beautiful wife Janet and my new born son Daniel. Just surfing, fishing, growing our own vegies and scratching out an existence carved in foam.                                                                                                                           In mid 1980s I started work for George Greenough as a camera assistant and I started new career in cinematography. I graduated from the Australian Film and Television School with degrees in Directing Documentary, Radio and Television and Production Management. I always have had a camera in my hands since I was a kid at school and have been a contributing photographer to over 30 surf films in the last 20 years

   

Shooting a Forsters Beer TVC on location Tully River Nth Queensland

While never far from the shaping room I pursued a career as a point of view action sports cameraman. I was lucky to work on some incredible jobs like working for Skyrider Simulation Systems filming, building and developing interactive simulators. With 6 axis of movement we could recreate most experiences and most forms of transport know to mankind. It was during this time I developed my design talents building and designing all sorts of water housings for all kinds of cameras and developing  the rigs  that would carry them to shoot unique POV images.

In 1999 with Daniel finishing school we created the KRYPT brand.

 

 Daniel Thomson

TOMOSURFBOARDS.COM

Learning to surf are among some of my earliest memories at around the age of 3.

  

I had a unique childhood Growing up in a rainforest by the beach at Broken Head NSW with neighbours’ such as George Greenough.

Being quietly observant to countless designs rants and projects over the years with my Father Mark and several encounters with Travelling surfing legends such as Brad Gerlach Tom Curren and Donovan Frankenriter gave me a natural desire and interest for high tech equipment and extraordinary style and performance.

Dad and Tom Curren building a board for the film  5' 5" x 19 1/4

I first had shaping tools in my hand from as early as 5 years old with Dad shaping me my first custom board and getting me to help cut rail bands or something. For years I sat in the shaping room watching my Dad go through the motions with the power planner and scratching around on my custom boards but it wasn’t until i was about 14 when i started getting the desire to shape my own sticks.

All Yew- Daniel Thomson part 1 from www.KORDUROY.tv on Vimeo.

I guess it was around this age is began developing an awareness of what i wanted in my equipment which was something i was having problems with from other shapers.

So i began translating what i wanted to feel in a surfboard and from then on slowly developing my physical skill with every new board. It wasn’t until my late teens i began to shape for my mates and other people interested in my designs, and as my the contest scene got more and more tedious i focused most of my attention on just surfing and developing my skill both in and out of the water.

In 2004 i met Richard Kenvin (Hydrodynamica.com) through a chance meeting with my Father and the dual fin fish was introduced to me at that point. I was instantly intrigued by the simplicity of the design and the pure nature in which it performed. I really fell in love with the fish as it re-kindle my passion with surfing because at in time i was feeling burnt out on riding 6’0 thrusters day in day out.

Inspired from the cutting edge U.S air force technology Fighter-Jet and theories of which allow the craft to perform sharp controlled manoeuvres at high speeds.

I’ve found that the best way to release the high velocity laminar flow created by the foil outline is a combination of sharp calculated angles, rather than the curves of a fish tail.

Consequently the Raptor tail releases the low pressure flow cleanly  which gives the design a free and effortless manoeuvrability and minimal resistance. 

 I see my self as a student of surfing and i feel i have developed a unique understanding of physical nature of the surfboard and how it interacts with the ocean. I see surfboard making as a science and an art form and believe that surfing performance is limitless and walks hand in hand with surfboard design potential.

©Copyright 2009 KRYPT