GRIP CO
Velvet grip Co
Velvet tail pad resting on the seat of glory
Photo - Velvet
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Welcome
WELCOME
CONTENTS
The Story
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14
16
Our Culture Zine
The Team
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Mount Vs Wellington
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36
50
Shop
The Formal Stuff
Specs
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Velvet X Jordan Griffin Surfboards
THE BEGINNING
8
THE Story
Hmm.. since I was a grom I’ve always loved all things to do with surfing, from admiring surfers lugging surfboards around the beach at the Mount, to the guys (and girls) in surf shops and those who worked for surf brands. My twin brother and I would go into the local surf shops and hassle them for free stickers.. such little pests. Or if we saw a van covered in surf branding we would ooh and ahh and dream to be those guys when we grew up! Those dudes were so cool! Anyway, soon I was a surfer myself and immersed in the surf culture around the Mount. Still I was always trying to come up with new ideas and think of gaps in the market where I could invent or make something that would make me rich and famous! I tried the typical things such as reconstructing t shirts and screen printing sweatshirts under the ‘Still Thinking’ label with some success but it wasn’t enough so I kept thinking and dreaming! Away from the surf dreams I had others too. One such idea came about after many sweaty summers moving furniture around the North Island.
I thought there must be an easier way to make good money rather than getting paid minimum wage to lift a leather lounge suite out of a truck and up four flights of stairs with some guy on the other end who smells like he hasn’t showered in weeks. I thought, nah stuff that. So back to my “Invention phase” I thought I could invent some sort of conveyor belt that could move the furniture for us or at least some of the way to make life that little bit easier. After weeks of research I found I needed at least 100k to get this dream up and running. Oh bugger, back to the drawing board. Maybe one day I will come back to this once these pads pop off haha, P.S don’t steal my idea. So it was soon back to my dream of anything to do with surfing. The beers got flowing and my brother and I got talking about our possible money making schemes as usual. It’s amazing how alcohol has that creative effect eh! We asked ourselves what would we like to have or use while surfing that is bigger or better that what we already use or have?
THE BEGINNING
After a few hours of brainstorming and internet storming I decided there was a gap in the market I had to explore further and that was for surfboard grip pads! There wasn’t anything cool, or new in the market and was bloody hard to get your hands on a front grip. This was around the time I was thinking of a major project for uni, so i thought why not do this! I told a few of the boys about my new designs for grip pads and they were hyped on it. A few more hours went by and a few more beers went down and the name “Velvet” finally came to mind with the help of a mate. At the time I thought it made sense and I guess it does. So here we are. Velvet Grip Co. A little company selling half or full deck grip pads with cool new designs and shapes you haven’t seen before, not only a brand but a culture (one day) haha. “Why velvet? Are you girls selling velvet dresses?” one mate asked! “Ha ha ha no smartass, Velvet just feels nice and who doesn’t like things that feel nice?” I replied.
So that was how the grip pad company became Velvet. Luxury for your feet is what I like to think our pads are for the user. Maybe, maybe not. Ah well it sounds cool to me and is definitely more luxurious than wax. Im sick of hearing “Bro reckon I could borrow a tiny bit of wax?” You want to say, “yeah course I just payed $5 for this for you to use half of it on your board”, there’s always that awkward yarn in the carpark. So the moral of the story is buy a full deck grip pad from Velvet and you won’t have to hear that shit yarn again will you! Win, win I say. After many sketches of designs and development, thousands of emails back and forth from my Chinese friends that didn’t make much sense to me, a scam, weeks of plain rice and a couple months of waiting and, Velvets first range of pads finally turned up on the doorstep, yeah i was stoked! Somehow they got through customs free of charge and now I would like to officially introduce you to - the one and only.. Velvet Grip Co.
10 Once the pads arrived I kitted out my own board
Photos - Velvet
Photo - Velvet
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Jonas pulling his hair out over the fact he’s not tucked inside that tube
OUR CULTURE
Jordan shapes surfboards, this is his new shaping bay, hes stoked
your culture
Photo - Velvet
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our culture and
One day a truck like this will be the Velvet Company car
Photo - Velvet
Jonas lining up his front pads before applying. Once its stuck, its down for life.
Photo - Velvet
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THE TEAM
The team is basically mates of ours with a bit of creativity and talent. We find these guys fit the culture we are aiming to create and they do more than just surf well. So we hooked them up with some pads, Welcome to the team boys!
WELCOME
INTERVIEW
JONAS TAWHARU
Jonas showing off his new front pad
I remember you as a grom out main beach on your green Darcy surfboard, you were ripping, still are, how old were you when you started surfing and how old are you these days? I started at the age of 11, and I am currently 17. Lets say you jumped on a plane solo for a 10 hour flight and you get to your seat, who would you rather see parked up next to you and why? Out of Noa Deane, Kelly Slater, Graig Anderson, Dane Reynolds or Jordan Griffin. Haha it would be sick to be parked up next to dane and just talk about surfing and shit. Griffo probably not. He will be on a constant flow of beers, Kids an alcoholic! Thoughts on a beer and car sponsor? A car spono would be that cool. But if they slam me on some cheesy poster or make me drive it with my face painted on the boot i’d be outta there real quick. Beer would be funny because eventually everyone would find out that the guy on that Corona ad was 17.
How was your recent trip for worlds, tell us where you went and what was the gnarliest thing you saw? Also did the pads go ok? The World Juniors were fun. Didn’t get to surf that much because everyone was on that comp grind. The gnarliest thing was probably seeing my sister make the world finals. I got pretty pumped, and I usually hate that comp hype stuff. The pads went real hot. This judge came up to me and was all over the white grips and my surfing haha. No one had anything like them. However I did get a second degree carpet burn and rash on my chest, but according to my girlfriend it made me look badass! So all in all a massive succsess for the grips.
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“The pads went real hot. This judge came up to me and was all over the white grips and my surfing haha. No one had anything like them”
Photo - ISA
Thoughts on Griffs board sprays? Im surprised you let him go with the can on your boards. Anyone comment on them at worlds? Yeah the board sprays. I pulled up to the crossies flat with two fresh Rusty’s in the back of my Toyota, and out comes the spray paint in literally a blink of an eye. I was like real scared cause they were that fresh! But they turned out real edgy and raw, which is cool apparently. Cross roads is your local right? Whats so good about it? When’s the chest tattoo going down? Cross roads is the most prestigious surf community in the Mount. It’s where the coolest cats hang out and where the best surf in the Mount is. Summer is coming and the banks are shaping up. Better not see you out there.... I wouldn’t say tattoo on my chest, but I am definitley looking at an inked out knuckle.
Steezy
Photo - Cormac Seamore
INTERVIEW
By the sounds of it, you’re quite sketchy behind the wheel? What ever happened to that scooter with the racks? Your C-rollas sick too, how does that go? Yeah my driving could be considered reckless. Or maybe it’s the whip that’s a little unroadworthy. A certain slippery and fast drive to Whanga forged some opinions I think. Anyway, I have just got my license and it’s mad! The scooter was legendary. I slammed on racks and used to punch it down to main beach 5 times a day. I was originally going to try take the piss cause scooters are that funny. But people just looked at me and thought ‘what a grom’. I didn’t care, I think it’s rad. What are your plans for the future surfing wise, any sick trips lined up? I’m going to Bali at the end of the year for a month to film. Also, there’s a Rusty trip
Jonas freesurfing in Portugal warming up for the Juniour World Champs
coming up with Noa and the crew at the end of the year. One more question, if you could have your own custom set of pads, what would they be like? I wanna see flames or Black and White Racing stripes! Pastely colours and art designs! And all sorts of creative shit. Watch out for the next drop of gear. Cheers, Yon Yon. Thanks Jonas, Great having you on the team!
20 Jonas and his toys
Photo - Velvet Photo - ISA
“Yeah my driving could be considered reckless. Or maybe it’s the whip that’s a little unroadworthy. A certain slippery and fast drive to Whanga forged some opinions I think. Anyway, I just got my license and it’s mad!”
Nothing feels better than a fresh stick
Photo - Velvet
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VIDEO VIDEO
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the video
VIDEO
The boys fueling up between surfs
Photo - Velvet
26 2 Josh contemplating whether he wants to go left or right
Photo - Velvet
VIDEO
Josh TAYLOR and haia NGATA
My alarm went off, waking me up from a dreamy sleep. It was 5.30am, time to get out of bed and on the road. I quickly rustled together my necessities for the day, brushed my teeth and headed for the car. It was cold and dark and sooo tempting to turn around, and hop back into my warm cosy bed. But what would I tell the boys if I didn’t turn up to pick them up as arranged? The surf report was pretty much perfect and I knew we were definitely going to score today. My excitement kept me going as I fought the lack of sleep. I picked up Guy the photographer, followed by Josh and Haia. Josh and Haia are two boys from Mt Maunganui living in Wellington. A bit different than your usual boys. They both can surf well, they both dress well... well different than most, but in a good way. Before a recent Bali trip they went on together, Velvet hooked them up with some grip pads, so we thought let’s make a surf edit while the report was looking perfect and the boys were gripped up with our new pads. We stacked the boards on the roof, tied a few dodgy knots and hit the road. So it was off to the Wairarapa coast. It is known for its deadly locals, isolated surf breaks and pumping empty waves.
We soon arrived at a spot near Cape Palliser. Blue skies, nice landscapes and pumping waves created a perfect day for me to chill on the beach and stack clips. My shoulder was still sore from a drunken fall the weekend before so I wasn’t able to surf which kept me on the beach for good. After photographer Guy got told “f*** off mate, get that f*** camera out of here” I was a bit on my toes but continued to film. After a while at this spot the boys weren’t quite getting the waves they wanted and we decided to pack up base and head 500 metres up the road to a right hander that was looking rip-able for sure. The boys crawled across the rocks and got back out there, getting wave after wave. It was sick, the clips started to roll in and the content was slowly stacking up. A couple of hours went by, the wind picked up a little and the tide came in. We had scored the best wave conditions of the day and decided to pack it in. Sun burnt and amped on seeing the clips, the boys piled into the car as we decided to call it a day, and what a day it was! Enjoy the clip. Watch here https://vimeo.com/183433231
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Mitch sporting the yellow Velvet tee
Photo - Ryan Glover
32 Jordan dreaming of winning darts for once
Photo - Velvet
WELLINGTON VS THE MOUNT
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WELLINGTON VS MT MAUNGANUI
After growing up surfing mainly at the Mount then coming to Wellington it was a pretty big transition surfing wise. I had always heard Wellington was inconsistent and whenever there was a swell the wind just blew it away. Anyway, I was about to figure this all out for myself. It’s crazy, the first thing I noticed was the level of surfing. The majority of the surfers out at the Mount are pretty good, if not sponsored. This includes little groms snaking you, then doing a air reverse at the end of the section. That’s what I grew up with and that’s what I was used to. Wellington is known for the hipsters, but when they try to bring it to the water on their three fin “logs” with leg ropes shuffling up and down the board, it really is funny to watch! Awesome wave quality and the lack of major crowds at the Mount is also something I had always taken for granted and didn’t appreciate until I got to Lyall Bay for the first time. In my first year of being in Wellington I didn’t surf much as it was such a mission. A skate for fifteen minutes followed by a hefty hike up a hill to our car park wasn’t worth the one foot blown out chop with ten surfers on each wave out Lyall with a set that only came
through every half an hour!! And it’s not always worth the long wait in the line up with twenty boogie boarders and a hundred “wanna be” tough guy local dudes, ha ha. A little harsh I know, sorry Wellingtonians! But really, on a good day (twice a year, ha ha) in Wellington when the waves are good, it’s actually a lot of fun apart from the crowds and drop ins down at the wall. You tend to get a couple of good ones then be happy to call it a day. If you want pumping waves and no crowds definatley worth the trip out to Waiarapa. Still the gnarly locals but there are some sick spots, and a high chance you’d get it to yourself. What I am really trying to say is the scene is just completely different between the two places in regards to surfing, not in a bad way but it’s just crazy how different they are. It makes sense though, the beach culture in the Mount shapes a lot of us local surfers and unfortunately from what I have noticed after the last four years the surf culture isn’t so strong in Wellington. Im still thankful and stoked on surfing in Wellington over the last four year, so cheers for that!
Jordan carefully sticking down a tail pad
Photo - Velvet
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The FORMAL Stuff
With any company there’s a fomal side. This isn’t too formal, but its just a run through of the grip pads, social media, and a few various marketing and branding stratagies.
WELCOME
WWW.VELVETGRIPCO.COM
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THE SHOP
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WWW.VELVETGRIPCO.COM/SHOP
42 TAIL PAD - WHITE CORDUROY $70.00
VELVETGRIPCO.COM/SHOP
44 FRONT PAD - WHITE CORDUROY $70.00
WWW.VELVETGRIPCO.COM/SHOP VELVETGRIPCO.COM/SHOP
46 VELVET LOGO TEE - YELLOW, BLACK, NAVY $40.00
Model - Becca Haeger
Photos - Velvet
VELVETGRIPCO.COM/SHOP
VELVET CARRY BAG $25.00
SPECS
The first set of grip pads consist of a four piece front pad and a three piece tail pad. The pads are made of an EVA foam, topped with a grippy but stylish corduroy texture. The holes on the tail pad are for extra traction when needed on those critical manoeuvres. Through user testing and development, these pads prove to work and are unique to their current grip pad market, standing out from the rest in a crisp white colour and bold Velvet logos. Keep an eye out for the next range dropping soon including various upgrades such as new styles and colours.
2 50 Front Pad - 280mm X 180mm - Four piece - Rash free corduroy texture - Customisable shape options - 3M Adhesive Backing
Tail Pad - 260mm X 380mm - Three piece - Rash free corduroy texture - Punched holes for extra traction - 50% tail kick - 3M Adhesive Backing
THE FEED
2 @velvet.gripco
Finn J sanding away at his new log
Photo - Velvet
54 Surfboards always getting in the way
Photo - Velvet
VELVET GRIP CO X JORDAN GRIFFIN SURFBOARDS
We did a fun collaboration with a good friend of ours who creates surfboards. Together, we created this super fun 5’7 twin fin surfboard inspired by the 70’s but with a spicy new generation flair. We slapped a front pad on, which you don’t normally see, but we find it goes well with the asthetic of the brands coming together as one to produce a board that appeals to our audience as something different in the industry.
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VELVET GRIP CO X JORDAN GRIFFIN SURFBOARDS
2 58 Jordan is based in Mount Maunganui. Check out @jordangriffinsurfboards on Instagram for more handshaped and traditional style surboards. Order one for yourself today and we will throw in a free grip! What a deal!
V E L V E T
VELVE T
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Cheers
Thank you to everyone who helped me create this publication, all my mates for helping me out by coming on surf trips and letting me video and photograph them. Also, thanks to my brother Mitch and the bank for the money to turn this project into a reality, i’ll pay you back one day. Can’t wait to carry this project on into the future. Keep an eye on your local surf store for Velvet Grip Co hopefully coming soon :) Tim Broadhurst
V E LVETGRIPCO.COM