Bamboo surfboards make a splash

Bamboo Surfboards Make a Splash

Written by Miranda Cook

Passionate surfer and Old Boy Richard Matthews ’68 has a love of the ocean that goes beyond riding waves.

The backyard craftsman is synonymous in the global surf industry due to his quest to create a more sustainable surfboard. His goal is to protect the workers who make them, while keeping the planet clean.

Affectionately known in the surf industry as “Bamboo Man Dipo”, he began shaping boards in the 60s and 70s underneath his mother’s house on the Gold Coast, alongside Gordan Merchant, who later founded surf fashion giant Billabong.

Richard has devoted five decades to researching and working with alternative building materials in the construction and surf industries.

As his nickname suggests, he became enamoured with bamboo due to its the strength and environmental benefits, such as its ability to absorb carbon dioxide and release more oxygen into the atmosphere when compared with an equivalent hardwood tree.

“My bamboo surfboards are made from 95 per cent non-toxic materials, and traditional surfboards are the opposite,” Richard told Grammar News.

“It makes the manufacturing process far safer.”

He first encountered the plant after moving to India to practise mediation in 1977. In need of somewhere to sleep, Richard reached for the bamboo because it was the only material available. He went on to make cabins and restaurants for other westerners staying there.

“The locals had a community way of working together to build with the bamboo, which was very impressive.”

Speaking to Grammar News from Bali, Richard has lived a remarkably transient life — his bamboo creations stand tall across Australia and Asia as reminders of his travels.

In 1981, he submitted 30 pieces of bamboo for testing to the University of Sydney Engineering Department, so it could be legally used as a building material in Australia.

“I was using a type called Balcooa, and they graded it stronger than steel and therefore an acceptable building material.”

His impressive portfolio includes opening a bamboo furniture shop in Tweed Heads, fitting out three venues for an Indonesian restaurant in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and building government-approved school and music festival facilities in Northern New South Wales.

As part of a governmentfunded project, he built a bamboo houseboat for parents and students of the then Nimbin Community School. The houseboat was part of an initiative to teach students Indigenous bush knowledge as they floated in the Evans Head River and Bundjalung National Park areas.

It wasn’t until he was running a surf camp on Siargao Island, in the Philippine Sea, in 1997 that he first began using the bamboo in surfboards because traditional resources weren’t available.

“But I had issues sealing the board and would come back to the shore with it dripping with water.

“It was about two kilograms heavy,” he said with a laugh.

After many trials and errors, he perfected his design over time. It is now made from a bamboo veneer, a lightweight timber and organic epoxy, and has the same performance abilities as a standard surfboard.

When he is out riding waves, curious onlookers still flock to ask about his beautiful, eco-friendly boards.

“It is very labour intensive because the boards are handcrafted — I would be booked out for a whole year.”

Richard spends his days teaching locals and foreigners his surfboard-making techniques from his workshop in Bali and online. He does this for free.

“My surfboards last a lifetime — you don’t have to buy three or four boards a year, which reduces our carbon footprint.”

My bamboo surfboards are made from 95 per cent non-toxic materials, and traditional surfboards are the opposite.