Men of Wood and Foam tells the story of the pioneers of the Australian surfboard industry, uncovering a golden decade in surfing, starting in 1956, when surfing was transformed into a sport and culture with its very own music, movies, fashion and heroes. Underpinning this exciting transformation was a small group of artisans who started out in the 1950s making wooden surfboards in their backyards along Sydney's eastern beaches, before eventually moving to Brookvale where they experimented with blowing foam to make lighter and more responsive surfboards from plastic. These pioneers, Barry Bennett, Scott Dillon, Denny Keogh, Greg McDonagh, Bill Wallace and Gordon Woods, became known as The Brookvale Six. By 1958 The Brookvale Six were building Malibu Chip boards from balsa wood and by the start of the 1960s, surfboard riding really began to take off when they produced the first lightweight foam boards, kicking off a huge Australian surfing boom. The Brookvale Six not only supplied the entire country with surfboards but also made design breakthroughs that put Australia at the forefront of the sport for decades - inspiring a never-before-seen evolution in Australian surf culture. Narrated by Dan Wyllie (Animal Kingdom, Romper Stomper), Men of Wood and Foam includes interviews with Patricia Little Pattie Amphlett, as well as surfing legends Mark Richards, Nat Young, Layne Beachley and the late Midget Farrelly. It also features in-depth interviews with all members of The Brookvale Six, and contains rare archival surfing footage spanning seven decades in a truly iconic time in Australian sporting and cultural history.
THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN SURFING - A companion to Nat Young's legendary History of Surfing - the biggest-selling surfing book ever - this groundbreaking documentary presents the history of surfing in Australia from its origin in 1915, through its development with wooden boards, the Malibu revolution of the '50s and '60s, the short board revolution of the '70s and into the radical '80s. Written, directed and narrated by Nat Young, a four-time World Champion who was integral to surfing's evolution into a high-performance, high-profile global sport, A History of Australian Surfing reflects his deep and detailed knowledge of surf and beach culture, and illustrates how Australia emerged as the dominant force in modern pro surfing. Filled with classic footage of Australia's greatest surfers in action - including Midget Farrelly, Mark Richards, Tom Carroll, Wayne Lynch and many more - this is the definitive Oz surfing documentary. Includes Fall Line, a 40 min documentary directed and narrated by Nat Young that charts the emergence of extreme wave, wind and land sports, sports all driven by the will to find the fastest and most radical route from the top to the bottom.