Frother of the Month: Luke Daniels

By Christie Bennett on June 11, 2013 in People

When Luke Daniels isn’t down at the beach working as lifeguard or getting barreled at Bronte Reef, he’s in his man cave crafting timber alaias and hand surfers with the skills he learned in his former life as a carpenter…

Name: Luke Daniels
Age: 30
Local Break: Bronte
Board Shaper: Nige Annesley
Board Dimension: I ride ‘em all
Goofy or Natural: Natural

As a Waverley Council lifeguard, you must love this time of year?
Yeah, the madness of the summer crowds has backed off and the weather is epic at the start of autumn.

During the off-season you travel a fair bit; do you have any plans for this break?
Usually I will scoot overseas but this break I’m going to head up to the North Coast for a bit.

Where’s your fave destination?
Kauai or Nias because of their waves and the cruisey island pace.

You’re a carpenter by trade and you’ve started a new business called Dashwoods; can you tell us a bit about it?
After downing the tools to be a lifeguard six years ago, you never lose the passion for creating things. Lately I’ve been frothing on making timber alaias and hand surfers in my spare time. Both have been hell fun making and surfing when the waves are small.

Where would you like to see your business headed in the future?
Forwards. I just want to keep enjoying it and get people frothing to get in the ocean more often.

Why do you think people are reverting to the old wooden alaias and retro surfboard shapes?
The days of only riding a shortboard are long gone and people are finding all sorts of things to ride, for fun and to just experiment. I also think it helps make you a more rounded surfer.

You’re also a team rider for FTW; do you embody their slogan ‘Go Big, Go Hard’?
Yeah, basically it’s a principle: chase whatever the hell it is you love to do. Even if you fall, you know you gave it your best. Just make sure someone was there to watch so you can have a good laugh about it down the track!

You recently represented Bronte Boardriders in the Jim Beam Surftag Aussie titles; how’d you go?
We got a close second behind North Narrabeen. Despite missing out on the win, it was good beat our local rivals Bondi. It always stirs up some colorful banter!

Any last words?
Life’s short – enjoy it on a Dashwoods.