DHD Surfboards

DHD Surfboards
Founded	1984
Location	Burleigh, Queensland, Australia
Shaper	Darren Handley
Category	Shortboards
Website	http://www.dhdsurf.com

DHD surfboards, Darren Handley Design surfboards, are some of the finest surfboards manufactured in Australia. These surfboards are designed and sold under the specialized hardware company BASE surfboards and equipment.

Darren Handley is the premier shaper behind DHD surfboards. Handley was born and raised on Queensland’s Gold Coast where the surf is world-renown.

Handley has been involved in various aspects of the surfing world his entire life. A pivitol turning point for Handley’s surfboard designing career was working with Murray Bourton’s Pipedream Surfboards’ factory. After ten years of honing his surfboard shaping skills, Handley went out on his own and founded his surfboard shaping company, Darren Handley Designs or DHD.

Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore are two world championship surfers who have ridden DHD surfboards to victory and have played a major role in the growth and success of DHD surfboards.

Mick Fanning, the 2009 ASP World Title holder and a contender each and every year to win the men’s ASP world title, finished the 2010 title race in a respectable 3rd place. Mick exploded in the recent contest in Portugal and has had a huge impact on the surfing world throughout his career.

Stephanie has won the women’s world championship title not once, twice or three times, but four times to date!

Currently, Stephanie has four wins under her belt for the 2010 surfing season. She placed first at Snapper Rocks, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, the Peru Classic and the Layne Beachley Classic in Syndney. She is ranked as the number one ASP female surfer in the world for the 2010 surfing season.

Both of these famous surfers consistently compete with DHD surfboards and have their own pro surfboard models, the Mick Fanning Pro Model and Steph Gilmore Pro Model.

State of the art and continuous evolution define Darren Handley’s approach to shaping and responding to the needs of today’s world champion surfers.

Darren Handley continues to travel the world surfing all types of waves as part of his research and development to create the perfect surfboard.

History of DHD Surfboards

DHD (Darren Handley Designs) Surfboards was founded after he spent a decade shaping for the well known Pipedream Factory by Murray Bourton. Growing up on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Darren always had a passion and love for surfing, beginning at a young age of 12.

Presently, Darren continues to run a successful surfboard business, popularized with the many pro-surfers that now ride his boards. DHD Surfboards remains a strong influence within the surfboard industry.

"I love surfing and it is being in the water and the bay that inspires me to just keep on pushing it to discover that next edge."

—Darren Handley

Overview of DHD Surfboards

DHD Surfboards only shapes shortboards. The shortboard collections are organized into 5 main categories. These include:

1. Mick Fanning Series
2. All Round Performance Series
3. Summer Series
4. Step Up
5. Classics

Within each of the categories consists of several specific types of surfboards. They are as follows:

Mick Fanning Series

• Duck Nuts
• Sweet Spot
• Eager Beaver

All Round Performance Series

• P15 Pro
• P15 Nexgen
• D1
• Puzzle Piece
• Margo Nugget

Summer Series

• Project 15
• Switch Blade
• Monster
• Weapon

Step Up

• D3

Classics

• MF Coffee Bean
• MF Swivel
• D2
• D4

DHD Surfboards has an extensive network of pro-surfers including: Mick Fanning, Steph Gilmore, Kieren Perrow, Sally Fitzgibbons, Alejo Muniz, Adriano de Souza, Garrett Parkes, Mitch Coleborn, Ryan Hipwood, Brendan Margieson, Alain Riou, Koa Smith, and Alex Smith.

See also

• List of surfboard manufacturers

Bibliography

• http://allaboutsurfboards.com/dhd-surfboards/
• http://www.surfboardbrandshq.com/dhd-surfboards/