SurfDogs Recycled Surfboard Rings

We know surfboards are not a massive friend to Mother Nature, especially the yucky PU / poly old school combo. As this construction remains the industry standard why not think of some other of means of reusing it?

I am a surfer who has had issues with wedding rings and surfing. The metal ones can damage your board, and wooden ones always break in the end due to the sun and water combo. If you take your ring off and leave it in the car it never goes on again, then it gets lost. Steve, from SURFDOGS, makes bespoke rings out of recycled surfboard resin and they look superb. Problem solved and it helps out Mama Nature a bit too.

Having a personal interest in the process, the idea and the cost, I contacted Steve who was happy to answer a few questions.

SB: Hey Steve, where are you based? What exactly are the rings made from? Where do you source that?

Steve: I'm based in Leicester. The rings are all made from recycled surfboard resin, it's excess resin left over from pouring colours on the board itself, I have various people I receive this from and they are all UK based, handmade and independent shaper/makers.

SB: How long will the rings last for a surfer?

Steve: Longevity of the rings is down to how you treat it. Like all resin, it's not 100% shatterproof, I try to insist that thickness shouldn't be too thin otherwise it will be more likely to snap.

SB: Is it difficult to make custom orders as far as colour goes?

Steve: Most of the material is layered colourwise before cutting, so from the block it's a little difficult to make custom order, however, I can make and pour my own colours, which is something I will do but am not doing currently.

SB: How much would a rings set me back?

Steve: Ring pricing is £45 each, though from time to time I do promotion with a SURFDOGS t-shirt.

SB: How long would I have to wait for a custom order?

Steve: All rings are made to order, so depending on my schedule, and as this is my part time gig it's around 2-3 weeks.

SB: Where did you get the idea?

Steve: I got the idea around 3 years ago, a friend of mine came round one evening with a ring he had made out of wood, I started looking into it, but using resin. I researched no end all over the place, and as I have always been interested in surfing, I called a surfboard company to see what happened to their over-pour resin and and what they did with it, the rest is history, after receiving my first block I had a name change to SURFDOGS and set out making. Since the name is unique I started designing logo's and developed a few t-shirt designs and started selling some merchandise, I'm hoping next year to have a go at making surfboards using a couple of logos I've made, so we will see what happens. The idea of making a surfboard and then a ring from the excess left over resin pour is something I'd like to build on.

SB: Thanks to Steve for his time and his awesome idea. If you do surf then this is something that is really useful and helps out Mama Nature too. As Steve has just eluded to the fact that he might start to shape boards, well only good things can come from this surely... especially if the boards are anything like the rings. We are going to be watching this space intently, best of luck Steve and thanks again for your time.