trapezoidal rocket fin test!!!

super hyped on the performance of this fin so far. it's fast and still allows for some radical cut backs. thank you Dave Town for making my bizarre ideas a reality!!!!

fun ones today!

early feb stuff, flothru, phin, pig fin , D fin

below are the fins david town and i are collaborating on.so stoked!!!!!!

below are some of the waves i've been testing the above fins in.

david town, ricky muniz and the flothru d-fin skeg pig fin

below are some flothru fins and some Phin fins for sale

below chronicles some of the history in these fins re-emergence. these pictures of david town's fins are in reverse order of development... makes for thought. what follows is: how these fins came back into the spot light. and a few words on their perceived function on a 10' marc andreini shaped surf board. also, a few words on their upcoming availability for fin boxes. surfapig.com is the first site to offer these fins for sale.

back in 1996 i went into santa barbara's beach house surf shop and saw one of marc's boards hanging up with this style fin.

after i released INVASION! from planet C marc came into my life. i was so humbled, as i had seen his boards while experiencing decades of santa barbara and san francisco surf. it turns out marc is an enthusiast of cheeky humor and "not taking surfing seriously".  a glorious union. prior to my involvement with bing surfboards, i had ordered a board from marc. the original board i ordered wasn't the one this fin came on. the second one was. ... enter BLACKSTOKE II. thank you marc andreini for enriching my life. thank you roger (of beach house) for having the OWL hanging from the ceiling. so stoked my mind works the way it does. i saw this fin, remembered who was associated with the label , waited for the appropriate time... BAM!!!

david town is a maker.

david's scetch in honor of marc's design.

my experience on this fin design is directly associated with surfboard that is somewhat of a "malibu chip" design. or not. not sure how to call it. what it is... is the "blackstoke II", psyched on its performance. the board, combined with the fin, is pure butter. it is a known fact that butter makes EVERYTHING better. except arteries.


i digress... it is my perception, from my experiences, that this fin contributes to a board's performance in the following ways: it functions as a "normal" fin while in trim. it functions as a "normal" fin going into and out of turns. the flothru fin holds my 200 + pound frame on the nose with confidence. one thing i have noticed is : a feeling when implementing an exaggerated stall bottom turn. while experiencing this, the flothru stalls easily. my feral pig takes a serious commitment to achieve what the flothru blackstokeII achieves effortlessly.  conversely, one could say my bing feral pig has more drive. yet, i can't say my blackstoke II lacks drive.

david town and ricky muniz are making these fins currently. to some, it might seem strange that two different people are making these fins. i don't think so. after i got blackstoke II from marc back in april of 2012, david inquired about the fin. he made one. this was summer of 2012, as i recall. time passes. i ride this board on and off for 2 years. enter summer 2014. ricky got a hold of it, and it inspired him. he goes back to puerto rico. he hand crafted and glassed on one of these fins to an AMAZING board. around the time ricky is making his board, i am writing an article. writing the article inspires me to tighten up this webpage and change things up a bit. i ask david to make the flothru fin for sale on surfapig, and i ask him to make my "Phi-n" (more on this later) that i designed. now as time goes, two amazing craftsmen are making these fins. david and ricky's fin must be different. as i believe neither of them "copied" marc's. marc's fin is a muse for these fins. i am honored to know both of these gentlemen. i am psyched to offer these fins on my site. i am super psyched to be running one in my bing feral pig. i can't wait to switch between my "Phi-n" a flotrhu in the same session!!!


the photos below were poached from ricky's i.g. feed. they show his fin and board in his waters. NICE!!!!

i'll post up here and on instagram when the flothru and the Phi-n are available for sale.

Phi-n, Flothru, Pig Fins, D-fin, Mike Black, Surfers Journal, Shape by Number.

Below are the fins David Town and I are collaborating on. The Phi-n and The Flothru. The Phi-n is a template I designed using a fibonacci sequence. I built a golden rectangle up to the 8th number (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21...). Then I drew an arc. I went in 8 units and up 8 units from the arc. This became the center of my next arc. The Phi-n has a tremendous amount of drive. It has a low height to base ratio. The Phi-n has a tight turning radius compared to The Flothru. We use the Kunamo bearing system in the Phi-n. This bearing system makes installing this fin so easy. This bearing system also gives us the opportunity to have an extremely large base. The Flothu fin was originally designed by Jeff White for White Owl surfboards. In the mid to late 90's I saw this board above the counter in the Beach House in Santa barbara. It was an Owl that Marc Andreini had shaped. I would stare at the fin and wonder how it would go. Eventually I had the honor to commission a board from Marc with a flothru fin glassed on. I love that board and really enjoy the feeling of the Flothru. My affinity for my Bing Surfboards Feral Pig and my love of the feeling of the Flothru led me to knocking on Dave's door. My experiences with the flothru have been amazing. The fin feels like anyother D fin while you are in trim. It holds on the nose and is trustworthy while trimming through steep sections. I can notice the most significant effect of the design elements when transitioning directions. The Flothru pushes back in bottom turns less than my Phi-n does. The Flothru has a wider turn radius than my Phi-n. I love the Flothru in powerful waves. I love the Flothhru in small waves. I love The Phi-n in powerful waves, I love my Phi-n in small waves. It is great having the pair for fins for my pig. It feels like I have two boards!! Scroll through the fins to see all that are offered!

do you need a surf a pig patch?

follow these 6 easy steps, and you will have your needed patch:

step 1: read step one, proceed to step 1.5

step 1.5: email surfapig@gmail.com see if i still have patches. if i return your email with a "yes" , then proceed to step 2.

step 2: grab two envelopes. address one to -> mike black p.o. box 614, Silverado, CA 92676. address the other to your self. include postage on both envelopes. proceed to step 3.

step 3: fold and place the envelope addressed to you inside the envelope addressed to me (mike). do not seal the envelope. proceed to step 4.

step 4: make a choice. if you would like one patch, place a $5 bill in the envelope addressed to me that also has the envelope addressed to you in it. if you would like 3 patches, place a $10 bill in the envelope addressed to me that also contains the envelope addressed to you. seal the envelope addressed to me. proceed to step 5:

step 5: place the envelope addressed to me in the mail. wait anxiously.

notice the detail on the patch is slightly off compared to the art submitted.

want the best pig ever to be made, ever? contact bing surfboards (sales@bingsurf.com). ask for a feral pig. for real. get one with a box and throw a Flothru or a Phi-n in it!