Torren Martyn - 'The Ugly Duckling' - needessentials
Oh the poor thing ! Did you do hear that? (sound of clicking / flapping broken fibreglass) That's funny, because it's actually done pretty well considering, 'cause if I ever have a board that I like, within two surfs, one of us will get destroyed - like not beyond repair but... I actually forgot about that, I hadn't thought about it for ages... [Kelly filming] So weird!! It's actually taken a thrashing! Look at it - straight into my shin. I have skinny little weird legs and I'm surprised my leg didn't break! [Kelly narrating]: This is a story about Torren Martyn and Simon Jones and a project that sits a little outside their normal happenings.
For about a decade the two have been developing a particular type of board together. With their origins in Byron Bay Australia, these (Simon Jones Designs) boards have developed somewhat of a cult-like following around the world. This quiver he (Simon Jones) sent along last time had an oddball in the mix. Torren and his fiancee Aiyana planned to sail around the archipelago of Indonesia for a year. They would be diving head first into life on a boat having no previous experience skippering their own vessel.
That's where I came in (Kelly Foote). I joined up to help him get his boat from one place to the next and document the trip along the way. I became fascinated by this quirky board and wanted to know more about how it came to be. Torren and Aiyana realised their dream of having perfect waves at their doorstep, and all alone at that. This provided a unique testing grounds for new equipment and will help push the design process forward on this project with Simon. This is an attempt to document that effort. It was 2014 when I started working with Simon (Jones) and it started as a really kind of organic friendship you know, a fluke, total fluke.
I had grown up in Byron, he'd been there for the past 20 years or so, and we known of each other and then we just kind of met and jelled and it just kind of naturally progressed from there. I have a lot of trust in him and our relationship and the board development. It set it roots and we speak the same language, you know, make me a 6'0" or 6'4" and make it new and refreshing. There's always going to be elements that are drawn from a previous design or board or something that's worked, like there's pretty much one template that he uses in every single one of these boards.
[Kelly filming] No way! Yeah it just keeps coming back, and it's not by choice, it just works and it feels good and everyone gels with it and it just keeps coming back, lhe uses it either, the rails the rocker, it's just this template And he's had that for probably 30 years or something - it's one of his first designs... When you describe a surfboard as a vehicle, it's fitting in the way that it's an additional part of moving through life. I really want to get this feeling and relive this feeling and I can only do that by having this particular vehicle that then gives me these feelings and then allows me to live my life the way I feel happiest and best. [Filmer] so can you tell me, mate, about this little square board - how did this one come about ? We got chatting and one thing led to another and, sort of felt like a good point to really kind of veer away from what we'd normally been working on. There wasn't any major revelation, it was just something that Torren and I hadn't ever played around with before - it moved into unfamiliar territory for us too anyway... And Torren and I, when we first met we started sub-6 foot I think the first couple of "Tracks" twinnies were in the 5'8" range. I think
our first leap away from 5'8" was 7'9" The sculpture of it, and the science of it, and the merging together of ideas in regards to creating a surfboard that is, for someone in a particular place, you feel this great need to meet all of their expectations and uh so there is actually a lot of I guess kind of, I don't want to call it anxiety, but there's there's this sort of real need to deliver - like you really get caught up in I want to do this really well... I always refer to boards as constantly evolving. The "Fiji" that I make now for instance aren't the "Fijis" I was doing back then. Even as people evolve, you know, your surfboard should evolve, or your film making or your art or your music or your work they should always be evolving. [Kelly narration] We checked our waypoint and float plan, then tidied up and got ready to leave. This would be the first portion of the trip with the possibility of surf.
After a long journey of getting to this point the anticipation was high. Torren was excited to try this new board and I couldn't wait to see how it worked as it was so different from the boards he normally rides. With sweaty palms I grabbed my camera gear and headed to land. This is the very first documented surf on the board we've dubbed "The Ugly Duckling" [Kelly narrating] I wanted to know more about this board Torren was surfing so I asked him for a bit of a backstory. I've been riding mostly boards in the mid six range of late - mid to high sixes, and essentially this is those boards in outline. [Really!?] Yeah [Chopped?!] Yeah exactly.
[So that's the same template that is used for every board?] Yeah exactly. I have a 6'8" "Fiji" that I love and this is that board. [No way...] Yeah other elements of change - no channels concave, rails... yeah V more or less, and this has got concave, channels where this has got no channels, um, it's interesting there's you know there's a few guys that are right down this rabbit hole, I mean there's a bunch of guys that are really good surfers and they're really tapped into it, um, and they surf them incredibly and it's kind of intrigued me a lot, like uh, but for me it kind of came because I was riding longer boards and finding it more difficult and less familiar getting on the shorter boards that I once loved so, you know, the only way to kind of get the length down, but keep the rail line was to do something kind of like this, and I talked to Simon about it, like it was just a short conversation when I was over in the States, having a few surfs at Rincon, I saw Trevor fly past on this this wave like down the line on a self- shaped board and I was just like - 'that looks so fun!' - I need to ride something refreshing and I need something new, I kind of wanted to take similarities from other boards and he (Simon Jones) kind of popped this thing out. [You said you're going to order another one?] Yeah [What's that going to be?] I think I want to go twon inches shorter and a little less ugly. I'm going to say 'how do we make it look a little less weird' ? [Kelly narration] After solid few days of sailing we arrived at our next destination, the wave abundant Island archipelago _______________ and dropped anchor.
Woooohooo? How are you ? Gooood...how you doing? Yeah, yeah, good good good good We just had such a cracking week of fun waves. Wow, unreal! The morning that we came around the corner, um, it was just sheet glass like the sun was just glistening behind this sorf of jungle island... ahh.. and just crystal clear water, these little 3 foot reeling little right-hander... I don't even know how to describe it but at the
time it was just like, almost euphoric. Anyone else surfing? No-one to be seen. Oh yeah..! We came around and just felt like we were the only people on the planet, and this perfect little wave... Oh no, that's so good the hear.. Yeah, yep, just so stoked, so happy.
How the boards feel? I have to start with the new board.. Orr yeah, yeah.. I fuckin' love it! Oh you're kidding!? Really?! Yeah, after I shaped it, I kind of couldn't look at it too much. Yeah, I find it hard to look at, but god it goes good ! It's super fun like it's like... I haven't had that feeling for a long long time. It's so lively and and responsive - it's got all those familiarities but looks nothing like anything else obviously, so I don't know as soon as I got on it I went, oh wow I really like it, Oh no ! [Applause] Yeah wow! I've been riding that ever since and I just can't get off it. Always let me know what you think needs to be coming through kind of...
I've had a couple of times where just that inside nose corner has kind of, caught just a little bit, and and I haven't dug, but it's just I've noticed water kind of come off it. I'm just kind of interested with what we did under the nose and stuff there. Actually, when it's going over it is the board catching? It's kind of just just carving through. It it holds really nice. Ah hu Cool! So we made enough, kind of break points there, to mitigate it when if the front edge goes into the water...? This new board has really kind of has
given me a bit of a different spark for sure. Yeah, yeah, okay - like I said before, that was my main motivation, I was like okay this is really different and I could stand to learn a lot here. Have - a - fuckin - blast. Give everyone a hug from us and and yourself - a dusty hug! Yeah, no worries. And same back and we're all thinking of ya. Allrighty, love you. Okay, love you too, bye, see you. [Kelly narration] The Ugly Duckling had taken a beating but Torren had grown fond of it and wanted to preserve it as best he could.
After a month and over a thousand nautical miles aboard 'Calypte' it was time for me to leave. During my stay I grew fond of Torren and AIyana's company. Cherishing our fun, rambling conversations and their light-hearted nature. The breathtaking landscapes, Indonesian hospitality and fun waves made saying goodbye hard. We would stop off on a nearby Island where Torren's friends Ishka, and Ryan (needessentials founder) were joining up bringing along with them the new version.
I handed filmer duties back to Ishka, but was super curious to see how this next model would go. Towards the end of their year-long adventure Torren took a trip back home to visit family and pick up the latest iteration of the board they were now calling "Calypte" named after the sailboat. From up close and afar I've witnessed "The Ugly Duckling" evolve into something so much more. What started off as an offshoot has now become their most refined board yet.
This is proof that sometimes the best things come from taking chances and stepping out of your comfort zone Watching Torren and Aiyana build their family from afar I still feel connected to them. Receiving regular updates about the progression of Torren and Simon's board innovation I feel grateful to have been a part of this story, and for me that's what this is always about, the connections and memories we make along the way. Simon (Jones) and his family are just like, the ultimate openhearted, loving, caring, sweetest family you've ever met. I'd say they're some of my closest friends these days, they are you know, that's kind of like family back there. Um yeah, which is really special to have you know, and to be in a working relationship as well right, not that it's ever viewed like that, but to have you know the best of both worlds like that is, yeah it's pretty, pretty... something I'm pretty grateful for.
2025-04-12 05:30
