Today's guest is Donald Brink. Today’s guest is Donald Brink. Donny is a surfboard shaper in San Clemente, originally from South Africa. Donny has made a name for himself in the surfboard market specializing in Asymmetrical design. Donald is a true artist in every way, he is a deep thinker, an analyst, a nerd in the details of discovery. Donny is many things... a painter, a drummer, a journey man, A carpenter, he works well with his hands. He makes surfboards and some of the most highly evolved and absolutely gorgeous designs and aesthetic shapes pleasing to look at. Which is exactly why his customers keep coming back with froth and stoke.   Donald Brink has been on the surf scene for a long time now… He is also an ambassador for Vissla. Catch him in the shaping shack from an old converted mobile home down at Salt Creek Beach for their annual cosmic creek surf event. Donny's work speaks for itself. I had discovered Donald Brink years ago through his podcast “Swell with my Soul”, an in-depth listen to Donny’s stream of consciousness as he breaks down surfings little nuances, designs and anything else surf/shape related. It’s a Surfers \Surfers Podcast that can be found on the "Surf Splendor Network. I ran into Donny one day at Trail 1, I gave him a complement about his podcast and he invited me over to his van to talk Surf and he showed me some of his new fins he was working on. It was like the wizard was giving me a peek into the castle, I was stoked to talk surf with the legendary shaper. To describe Donald Brink and his work… I grabbed this snippet from the Vissla website: "Donald Brink makes unique handmade surfboards that are essentially simple in design yet obscure in their appearance. Every shape is laden with attention to detail to the functional elements in those creative boards Donald shapes. The boards are an extension of one’s feet and built accordingly to the surfers stance. Designed to surf both left and right, applying changes necessary to the way one stands, his asymmetric concepts promote a more free and forgiving flavor according to the limitations of the foot, ankle, pivot and weight distributions in a surfers ride. His fascination for surfboards and passion for design is contagious, creating a welcome invitation towards the innovative craft he builds. It’s an entire hands-on process that is simple and real, which keeps the beauty of design and craftsmanship his way of life! Boom!   Please enjoy my conversation with the talented Donald Brink.     Music: Slow Roll-Tommy Guerrero Les nuits-Nightmares on wax (Carboot Soul) Kathleen Edwards-Hard on you