Photos
WelcomeGrant/SumatraMarie Miller/1979
The type of surfboard you ride can make a huge difference to your surfing, both in terms of day to day enjoyment and also with respect to how quickly you progress. Therefore, it's very important to get the right fit between you and your board.

These days there are many different surfboards to choose from. As a result, many surfers have difficulty deciding what type of surfboard would best suit them. In addition, different manufacturers and magazine articles make different promises and claims about their respective products. Some of these promises and claims are untrue or misleading, or at best are distortions of the truth. In these circumstances it's natural that surfers often feel confused or uncertain.

At Miller Surfboards, whether you are a highly experienced surfer or a raw beginner, your situation will be treated as unique. You will receive equal time and attention from Grant, who will personally work with you to design a board which meets your needs now.......and also those needs which will naturally emerge as your surfing progresses.

Grant Miller has been designing and shaping surfboards both here and internationally for the past 34 years and has shaped in excess of 22,000 boards.

Here.......we build some of the finest surfboards available.

Check our testimonials. Welcome.

New operating arrangements

Grant is now living and shaping at Milton on the South Coast of NSW. However approximately every 2 weeks, he will drive up to Sydney with a load of shaped blanks for his glasser.
He will then remain in Sydney for 2-3 days to pick up finished boards and materials and to meet with customers, by prior arrangement, before returning to Milton.

How do I order?

Surfboards can be ordered in person from Grant by prior arrangement, either at Milton on the South Coast or at Bilgola on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
Simply call him on - 0410 770 374  to make an appointment.
Alternatively, boards can be ordered over the telephone by calling - 0410 770 374, or by making an enquiry through the website contact page.
Finished boards can be picked up in person, either at Milton or Bilgola, or delivered via our Mobile service option.
We will happily trade in your used Miller board on a new custom surfboard.

We also have access to the complete range of Ocean and Earth products at competitive prices and can provide leashes, grips, boardbags and 10mm travel bags on request. Simply ask Grant at time of ordering or call for an obligation free quote.

MILLER SURFBOARDS

Little Forest via Milton. South Coast NSW 2538.
Business hours: 11am----6pm Tuesday through Saturday.
Tel: 0410 770 374

"He is lucky who, in the full tide of life, has experienced a measure of the active environment that he most desires. There is much to be said for a philosophy which aims at living a full life while the opportunity offers. There are few treasures of more lasting worth than the experiences of a way of life that is in itself wholly satisfying. Such, after all are the only possessions of which no fate, no cosmic catastrophe can deprive us; nothing can alter the fact if for one moment in eternity we have really lived."
Eric Shipton, Apon that Mountain.
Waterskate V-SKATE F-SKATE Powerglide Semi-gun Gun

Waterskate, V-SKATE, F-SKATE, Powerglide, Semi-gun and Gun. What's the difference? Head to The Boards page and find out!

Sunday, 31 March 2013

MEDICAL UPDATE

Past.

As some of you would be aware, for the last 4 months I have been recovering from some serious spinal surgery. On 27/11/12 after being airlifted from Milton Hospital, I underwent a 4.5 hour operation carried out by William Sears, one of my shaping clients and one of the finest neurosurgeons in Australia. The procedure involved complete removal of my L3/4 disc, fusing of the vertebrae, and a Laminectomy. In addition, bone grafts and titanium rods and screws were used to permanently stabilise my spine. After 5 days in the ICU I was released into a general ward, and on 20/12/12 , six weeks after admission, I was released. I spent the last 2 weeks in a specialist rehabilitation hospital where the physiotherapists informed me that it would likely be 6--12 months until I could surf again.

Present.
I am now back living and shaping at Milton.

Three weeks ago I started surfing again. I paddled out at Bendalong on a small day with high hopes, great excitement and the self belief which only a world class neurosurgeon like Bill Sears and months of dedicated rehab. could impart. The surf was maybe waist to shoulder high with nice shape. Prior to this I had only been paddling my board in the ocean. Now this was the real thing. Paddling into the first wave and it's all happening at once. I'm riding a 7'4" X 22 1/4" X 3" high volume V-SKATE which big Steve Minors had traded in......a perfect rehab. board for me. Paddling my heart out, the board lifts and slips in just like it should as I clamber to my feet as quick as I can.....gentle turn and then trimming, trimming and then over the top and out. Stoked. I was almost crying. The emotion of relief, that I can still surf after my surgery, that nothing seemed to break inside, that I'm back into it. Oh yeah. Then wave after wave until I could paddle no more. Since then I've been surfing as much as possible and shaping as much as possible. As of today I'm almost caught up with the back orders that were waiting all these months. Yesterday I had the first surf where I really got going properly, and was able to turn up and down the face, cutback and feel some real mastery returning.

Starting to surf again has reminded me just how difficult surfing is. The trickiest part for me now is getting to my feet quickly. Because of the fusion of my L3/4 vertebrae, I have lost some flexibility down low, and this is most apparent when getting to my feet. However gradually I'm getting quicker and smoother. I'm getting heavily into Pilates and also some Yoga which appears to be working. Going through all these relearning experiences has helped to remind me of the critical importance of stability and volume in the surfboards we all ride. No matter what age you are, how experienced, or whether or not you are carrying injuries, the right "fit" between you and your board is crucial. If you are riding a board which has been well designed for you, then you will have fun and improve progressively. If not, then you will suffer and your surfing will suffer. Life is too short to ride poorly conceived surfboards.

INDUSTRY

Recently people have begun ordering boards for Indo trips later this year. If you are thinking along these lines, don't leave it too late to order. Generally I like to use special thicker stringers on these boards, and these can take longer to source which can then slow down production. Also, interstate people need to allow extra time for freight. The other day we got a board delivered to Perth, WA in 3 days, but again, it can take quite a bit longer.

I have also had several queries recently concerning volume. Specifically, people are asking me how many "litres" are in this model or that of a particular length. I am in the process of writing a critical article on this recent practice. However for now I will simply say that the whole idea is bullshit and should be condemned. It is nothing more than a new form of marketing, and an attempt by certain manufacturers to differentiate their offerings, which are primarily made in Asia by people who do not surf. What is crucial in a surfboard is not the actual amount of volume, but rather, that the amount of volume is appropriate for the surfer riding the board.The amount of volume which is appropriate for a given surfer must be calculated by the shaper. Factors relating to the surfer such as their weight, fitness, experience, height, arm length, age, injuries if any, frequency of surfing per week, types of conditions surfed in, whether or not they have other boards, their style and approach to surfing and so forth, need to be known and assessed. Specific questions must be asked by the shaper to elicit this information. The shaper must then be sufficiently experienced to be able to use these answers intelligently to design and construct a suitable board. It is neither legitimate nor ethical to invite surfers to simply fill in a type of inventory such as those presented on certain websites, and hey presto, out comes a number (litres) which purports to represent the appropriate volume for that particular person. Think about it. This is fantasy, unethical, without empirical basis and a breach of the Trade Practices Act with respect to misleading claims and advertising. Surfboards which are marketed like this, are mass produced, like sausages, and are then sold by commission driven salesmen in surfshops, or over the internet. These salesmen invariably lack the competance which is necessary to find the right fit between surfer and board, and thus this psuedo scientific method has been developed to help them. Have a look on Ebay and Gumtree under used surfboards and you will see how many people are trying to offload boards right now which are too small for them, or too big for them and so on. Invariably these boards have been bought from surfshops with the "help" of salesmen. Only long years spent surfing and shaping enable and qualify a shaper to make, what are in effect, difficult decisions. Find an experienced shaper who keeps accurate records of your boards, and work with him to progress your surfing. There are no shortcuts. Enough on this for now. Lets move on to another topic where ethics and legitimacy are also strongly in question.

POLITICAL - Tony Abbott.



I think this video on YouTube sums up very clearly what Tony Abbott has to offer. Nothing. His contribution consists of nothing but primitive strategies designed to elicit as many votes as possible. He says whatever he thinks people want to hear at any given time, and since different people want to hear different things, he has no real position on anything. He promises everything and therefore nothing. A man without a moral compass who purports to be a Catholic. Surely all intelligent Catholics must be cringing at the disrepute he brings to them.

However I'll leave the last word to Mike Carlton from the Sydney Morning Herald who offers "Whenever I see Abbott on his hind legs, I find myself wondering if the nation really wants a prime minister who walks like a chimpanzee".
Oh for that to be his only difficulty.

Grant Miller