Bio: Kiernan Brtalik, Shaper

Many people don’t know about the surfing scene in New York. I didn’t know about it until I was thirteen, when I dropped the boogie board and picked up a long board surf board. My summers as a child were spent around the North East beaches and inner bays in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. With a passion for the ocean, and a respect for its powe,r I found a humbling position within the surfing community, one which was strengthened by an internship with a local shaper. I was given random tasks with ding repairs and boat repairs around the shop until I was confident enough and experienced enough to hot coat, sand, and gloss and polish the finished shapes. This position also gave me the opportunity to learn more about surfboard design and the surfing community in general (as well as putting me in the line up with some local rippers, in the end pushing my own limits).

Another blessing was my location in New York. With a broad cultural spectrum and a unique experience from parents in the aviation business I have been privy to many opportunities at home and abroad. Before I had turned twelve I had already traveled to most European countries, and since I can remember, have traveled to many more in different lengths of stay.

My first serious surf trip came immediately after high school graduation when I went to Guanacaste, Costa Rica. I was able to interact with people from a different culture with a different take on surfing, one which I hadn’t been introduced to until then... a surf all day and repeat mentality. After these trips the travel bug bit harder, keeping me bouncing from university to university until I finally took a study abroad trip to New Zealand in 2006. This trip gave me the idea that I could push and work hard for what I wanted.

I traveled as much as I could around New Zealand and was able to bring my surfing to a new level, a rung where I could hone in my design theories with each cutback and bending wave. With new influences from down under I feel that my shaping abilities are at the level where I can really experiment with new shapes and ideas to find boards that will really appeal to any custom ordered board, as well as develop new designs with peer surfers and team riders.

Haze Surfboards are shaped with EPS and glassed with Epoxy resin to stay with the performance level of modern surfing, and to also steer away from petro-chemicals.