New wave vision

Spend any time at all with Hayden Cox and the enthusiasm is infectious. At the mere mention of surfing and crafting surfboards, he lights up and the passion is right there, just as it no doubt was when, as a 15-year-old he shaped his first board while on work experience and felt a sense of achievement that has driven and inspired him ever since.

From developing a company name and logo before he actually had a company, to presiding over a global business that enjoys critical a popular acclaim, Cox has never faltered in what he wanted to achieve.

Today is another ‘pinch yourself moment’ as Hayden describes it, the eve of not only his first book launch, but also the unveiling of his latest board collaboration, the products of which lie glistening only feet away from where we sit.

Writing a book he says, was not a matter of penning a memoire because he felt he had achieved a certain milestone or reached the end of something. Rather as a young bloke growing up he was inspired by the efforts of others, so he is offering not only his own story to date, but those of many who’ve inspired him to a new generation of people perhaps considering there own next move.

“It’s about learning from other people and their stories,” says Cox, “I know there are a lot of young people out there thinking about starting things and I just want to tell them to ‘go start it’,” he says.

The book, New Wave Vision, charts not only Hayden’s career thus far – which will celebrate 20 years next year when he turns 35 – but also includes stories from such pioneering business people as Google maps founder Noel Gordon, Oakley founder Jim Jannard and skateboarder Tony Hawk, all of whom have followed their own dream and succeeded in creating not just careers, but whole industries based on those dreams.

Boiled down, it all sounds so simple. To Hayden Cox it’s all about performance and innovation, but never forgetting the importance of a beautiful aesthetic. Small wonder that Haydenshapes and Audi have enjoyed such a healthy relationship, given the almost identical brand philosophies they share. 

Pushing boundaries is another very familiar Audi core value and it is one that influences how Hayden Cox approaches everything he does.

That search for new and better ways to do things is what drove Cox to develop Future flex 10 years ago, revolutionising the way surfboard design and dynamics along the way. A parabolic carbon fibre frame, it removes the flex from the centre of the board and puts it on the outside, he explains. What Hayden did was move the material that creates the flex to the outside of the board and the result is a more responsive surfboard that reacts to directional changes and rider input a lot faster than a traditional board design. By changing the ‘flex pattern’ and materials the surfboard is not only more responsive but lighter and stronger. Again the enthusiasm is obvious, Cox’s eyes lighting up as he describes the process that is second nature to him.

“It’s a bit like suspension on a car,” he says helpfully, seeing the obviously lost look on my face. “Like suspension on a car.”

Even if the finer points of advanced surfboard design are lost on this hapless interviewer, the drive that saw a largely self-taught board shaper challenge accepted ways of doing things to come up with a better design and product is not. And it is the drive behind his latest creations lying gleaming in the afternoon sun. 

Three chrome surfboards, absolute works of art, yet all designed to perform at the highest levels.

The idea came from an approach by style guru Bill Tikos from The Cool Hunter, after seeing the Haydenshapes marble surfboard collaboration with Alexander Wang in 2014 and asked if he would consider creating chrome boards. The aesthetic element would obviously be there, but for Hayden it was just as important to have a board that would still perform – and that created a significant challenge. 

“Lots of things can be chromed in a bath, but they won’t work in a dynamic sense … it doesn’t flex, its heavy and you can’t surf it. Sure it’s going to look beautiful on the wall, but it’s like having a performance car and you can’t start the engine,” says Hayden. “For me, I don’t get involved in a project like this unless I’m able to maintain the performance elements. So after a couple of years of  research and working with different suppliers we were able to come up with a chemical process that allows the chroming, but at the end of the day it’s still lightweight, it’s got the flex and you can go surf it.”

“Tonight’s reveal is very exciting because I was able to achieve all of the elements I look for when I design a surfboard, but also satisfy the requirements of a chore surfboard.”

It seems straightforward – having a desired result in mind and ‘just going out and achieving it’. Never mind that it’s never been done before. 

So, fast forward a few hours now to the big event – another of those pinch yourself moments as he calls them. The beautiful long pavilion at qualia is bathed in afternoon sun as the 120 or so guests arrive to be greeted by the three gleaming boards – the ultimate aquatic sculpture if you like. The guests include celebrities, style leaders and members of the Audi board fresh from their overseas flight in from Europe. They’re here for a serious of high level meetings with Audi Australia’s management and to catch up on the brand’s operations Down Under. Part of that is to experience a little of Audi’s largest annual sponsorship event – AHIRW – so being greeted by chrome surfboards, albeit in this stunning location, must seem slightly surreal.

But the reasoning is crystal clear after hearing just a few words from Hayden in a Q and A with Audi ambassador James Tobin.

His story, so apparently simple on the surface, strikes a chord here too, and there’s that infectious enthusiasm spreading right through the massive room. It’s the ‘can do’ attitude that does it. Something’s never been done before, ‘so I’ll find a way of doing it’. No doubt, no hesitation, just ‘get on with it’. And get on with it he has, since the idea occurred to him all those years ago.