Firewire Surfboards today introduces the Macy-Boo, Rob Machado’s first longboard design for Firewire, created alongside his daughter Macy and inspired by a lifetime spent riding, and learning from, all kinds of surfboards.
The Macy-Boo grew out of boards Machado has been making for Macy over the past several years. An accomplished longboarder, Macy Machado, 22 spends much of her time riding logs, giving her and her father plenty of opportunity to experiment with different shapes and refine what they wanted from a traditional longboard.
The design also reaches much further back into Machado’s own surfing history. Inspiration came from an eclectic personal quiver that has included Donald Takayama’s Model T, a Hansen 50/50, a Ryan Burch noserider, and a 9’6″ Skip Frye glider, as well as an old photograph of Macy’s grandfather with a classic Australian log.
Machado’s connection to traditional longboarding dates back decades. In the late 1990s, Donald Takayama shaped him a custom board that Machado later rode in Costa Rica alongside Joel Tudor and Skip Frye during the filming of Thomas Campbell’s Sprout. Living at Cardiff Reef has only deepened that influence, putting Machado alongside generations of surfers and board builders with very different approaches to how a wave can be ridden.
“Macy has spent enough time on longboards that she has a really clear sense of what feels good to her,” says Machado. “So this wasn’t me handing her a board and saying, ‘Here, try this.’ We’d surf, talk about what she liked and didn’t like, and then I’d go back and make changes. That process kept going until we arrived at something we were both really excited about.”
“My dad has been making me longboards for a long time, so we’ve had years of trying different ideas and talking about what I like in a board,” says Macy. “What I love about this board is that it feels like both of us are in there. There are things he’s learned from all the boards and shapers that have inspired him, but it also came from the way I like to surf. Getting to create something together and then put my name on it is really special.”
The result is a user-friendly traditional log designed to work across a wide range of waves and for surfers looking for the glide, trim and noseriding of a classic longboard without making the board feel cumbersome.The Macy-Boo features a wide outline that carries its width through the tail, soft rails and single concave beneath the nose. It transitions into a rolled belly through the middle and a vee through the back, with a flipped tail rocker designed to support noseriding.
Despite its traditional outline, the Macy-Boo is relatively thin for a log and is built in Firewire’s Helium Core Technology with fiberglass lamination. The construction combines an EPS core with a variable-flex I-beam stringer and Paulownia and Balsa wood rails to create a board that feels light and lively underfoot while maintaining the glide expected from a traditional longboard.
The Macy-Boo is offered in two sizes:
9’3″ x 22 1/2″ x 2 7/8″ – 68L
9’6″ x 23″ x 3 1/8″ – 79.6L
Rob and Macy also worked together on a dedicated Machado Macy-Boo 10″ Single Fin. The template combines a wide base for drive and hold while noseriding with a thinner, raked tip intended to keep the board easy to turn.
The Macy-Boo is available now for $1,390 USD for the 9’3” and $1,450 USD for the 9’6” through Firewire Surfboards and participating surf shops.
Learn more: FirewireSurfboards.com
Firewire’s Demo Days provide a unique opportunity for surfers to test drive the Macy-Boo. Eventually, it will join the Firewire Fleets, a global premium surfboard rental program through a select network of surf shops.
About Firewire Surfboards and Slater Designs:
Founded in 2006, Firewire Surfboards’ mission is to inspire and enhance the surfing experience through innovative, high quality surf products made with the least environmental impact. Today, Firewire Surfboards and Slater Designs are distributed in more than 60 countries worldwide, offering leading designs by some of the world’s most talented surfboard Designers.
