Photo: Tim Bonython
“It was a full-on swell bender,” croaked Dylan Longbottom, hoarse from 20 days chasing swells from his base in Cronulla. “It’s been nuts. We were all so sore. I was waking up Lukas Chumbo at 3 a.m. every morning. Just amping to fill the skis and cars, pack the tow and paddle boards. ‘We’re going here for low tide, there if the wind changes, we’ll head here. And the best bit was they trusted me. Chumbo said, ‘just point me in the right direction and I’ll do whatever you say.’”
Remarkably, this was Chumbo’s first trip to Australia. It was a glaring omission on a CV that arguably has him as the best big wave surfer in the world. He is preeminent at Nazare, was a standout at the last massive swell at Teahupo’o, and on any significant swell event, remains a true heavyweight.
“But this might have been my best surf trip ever. It was already after the first four days. Just endless days of heavy barrels, insane slabs and way too much fun,” Chumbo told The Inertia. “All we did was try to keep up with Dyl. Which isn’t easy. He doesn’t sleep, but he always makes dreams happen.”
From day one, it was pedal to the metal. The first session was at Cape Solander, which Dylan described as one of the best and biggest he’s seen.
Dylan in his prime, way, way above the lip. Photo: Andrew Shield
“Dyl’s like the godfather out there,” said Ours OG Richie Vaculik. “He’s always got a smile and great energy. And if he’s out there, you know you’ve made the right call, cause no one on the coast is more on the pulse than Dyl.” The next day was Longbottom’s 52nd birthday, the crew celebrated by surfing Shark Island during the day and then a few local beers at the footy that night.
“The next day we scored that left down the coast. It was as big and heavy as I’d ever seen it,” said Dylan, about a wave he’s been surfing since he was 17. “It was like massive Cloudbreak, and Lucas was toying with the wave. To have him here riding my boards, at some of my favorite waves, is what being a surfer-shaper is all about. It was the culmination of so many parts of my life.”
Dylan’s dad Ross started surfing in the 1950s in Cronulla, riding balsa boards at his home break. In the 1960s, he worked as a partner, glasser and foreman at Peter Clarke Surfboards, one of Australia’s biggest manufacturers of the era. In the ’70s, Ross eventually joined Gordon and Smith (G&S) Surfboards in Cronulla, where he would spend two decades, rising to part-owner and factory foreman. It was in this factory that his two sons, Darren and Dylan, grew up — running barefoot through foam dust.
“I was raised in the G&S shaping bay. And those shapers were like gods to me. It’s all I ever wanted to do,” said Dylan. He, however, took a circuitous route to the trade. In his 20s, a freesurfing career based on progressive airs, talent and total fearlessness was supplemented by his “real job” as a bricklayer.
The man’s still got it. Photo: Tim Bonython
Dylan eventually turned to shaping in earnest after borrowing money for the basic tools, driven by a conviction that it was in his DNA — even if his old man argued with him toward safer ground in the building industry. Around 2000, Dylan started with Insight in Manly before moving to the Gold Coast to shape under Jason Stephenson for Billabong Surfboards, a nine-year stint he credits as the biggest shaping influence of his career. During this period, he introduced Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson, and a teenage Laurie Towner to Shipstern Bluff in Tasmania. On a 2006 trip, Towner rode one of Dylan’s boards on what remains one of the biggest waves ever paddled at Shipstern — and has ridden Dylan’s boards ever since. Other team riders include his daughter Summa, Laura Coviella, Max McGuigan and Matahi Drollet.
Dylan was Manoa Drollet’s tow partner in the pioneer days of Teahupo’o in the 2000s, and so it made sense to shape his much younger brother, Matahi’s, boards when he started surfing. The Tahitian goofy has stuck with him ever since.
“Dylan has been testing the boards himself at Teahupo’o for more than 20 years,” said Matahi. “Whether it’s his tow or paddle boards, I trust them without thinking. Every significant wave of my life has been ridden on one of his boards.”
In 2013, Dylan struck out independently, setting up a shaping operation in Canggu, Bali, at just the right moment before the area became an international surf hub. From there, his work took him across the globe — Morocco, the Canary Islands, Brazil and Portugal. His stints of shaping through the night and surfing Nazare by day earned him the affectionate nickname “Crazy Kangaroo” from his Portuguese staff. While his performance surfboards (which he often hand delivers from his van) are his bread and butter, he’s also carved a niche with his flat-decked big wave guns and tow board templates, often made for individual big-wave locations.
Mr. Longbottom now does a lot more of this in a support role. Photo: Tim Bonython
He says, modestly, that he’s been lucky with his timing as more and more average punters have recently got into surfing bigger waves and trying his boards. “I’m not sure if it’s social media or because of the better safety and inflatable jackets, but big wave surfing has taken off and I’ve just landed in a good spot,” he said.
Riding Nazare himself proved transformative, forcing him to develop entirely new templates for giant-wave performance boards. Those innovations drew in elite big wave surfers like Chumbo and, later, Justine Dupont, among others. They point to Dylan’s unique ability to both shape and surf the world’s biggest breaks as an unmatched quality that inspires complete trust. Pretty important when you’re riding waves the size of lighthouses.
“I’m still out there, still getting flogged, getting the odd barrel, and hooting and hollering, but coming back for more, and on this trip, somehow no one died,” laughed Dylan. Which, if you’ve seen the footage of Chumbo getting pin-balled through the Cape Solander boulders, was a minor miracle. “These days, it’s more about helping the next generation and just trying to make equipment that keeps up with the talent and progression of riders like Lucas. I love surfing, and I love making surfboards that stoke people out. There’s no need to overthink it.”
