Mick Fanning (AUS) and shaper Darren Handley have worked together for more than two decades. Fanning just won the Hurley Pro at Trestles on a DH design, and now more than ever their relationship is a case study for the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Fanning's win at Trestles was his second event title of the 2015 season (in April, he won the 2015 Rip Curl Bells Beach) and assumed control of the Jeep Leaderboard. Taking the No. 1 spot earned him the yellow jersey for the first stop on the European leg, the Quiksilver Pro France.
Mick Fanning tore into a Lowers righthander in the Final of the Hurley Pro for a huge score.
SHAPER: Darren Handley Designs
MODEL: MF Duck's Nuts
DIMENSIONS: 5'10" x 18.75" x 2.25"
FINS: FCS Thruster - MF Fins
TAIL: Squash
VOLUME: 26.26 Litres
MATERIALS: Polyurethane and Fiberglass
Fanning's custom Duck Nuts model, yet another winner in his quiver from DHD Surfboards. - WSL / Sean Rowland
"With Mick, he basically rides the same board with just small refinements for the different locations," Handley said. "He surfs three times a day and likes to keep fresh boards under him. At the next events he'll pick up 10 boards and pick the best when he goes out for his heat."
"When Mick was young I was showing him how shaping works -- how concaves and fins affect the board and what everything does," Handley continued. "I'm a surfer but what he's doing in the water, I don't understand that. So what he feels in the water he brings back to me and tells me, 'change this,' 'try this do that,' so we have a lot of experimenting to go to the next level... . Everyone's looking for a magic board, even if they have one."
Watch Fanning compete with some fresh whips at the Quiksilver Pro France beginning October 6 live here or on the WSL app.
Hurley Pro Magic: Longtime Duo Strikes Again
Paula Lehman
Mick Fanning (AUS) and shaper Darren Handley have worked together for more than two decades. Fanning just won the Hurley Pro at Trestles on a DH design, and now more than ever their relationship is a case study for the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Fanning's win at Trestles was his second event title of the 2015 season (in April, he won the 2015 Rip Curl Bells Beach) and assumed control of the Jeep Leaderboard. Taking the No. 1 spot earned him the yellow jersey for the first stop on the European leg, the Quiksilver Pro France.
SHAPER: Darren Handley Designs
MODEL: MF Duck's Nuts
DIMENSIONS: 5'10" x 18.75" x 2.25"
FINS: FCS Thruster - MF Fins
TAIL: Squash
VOLUME: 26.26 Litres
MATERIALS: Polyurethane and Fiberglass
"With Mick, he basically rides the same board with just small refinements for the different locations," Handley said. "He surfs three times a day and likes to keep fresh boards under him. At the next events he'll pick up 10 boards and pick the best when he goes out for his heat."
"When Mick was young I was showing him how shaping works -- how concaves and fins affect the board and what everything does," Handley continued. "I'm a surfer but what he's doing in the water, I don't understand that. So what he feels in the water he brings back to me and tells me, 'change this,' 'try this do that,' so we have a lot of experimenting to go to the next level... . Everyone's looking for a magic board, even if they have one."
Watch Fanning compete with some fresh whips at the Quiksilver Pro France beginning October 6 live here or on the WSL app.
Mick Fanning
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