The sport of body-boarding has waxed and waned in popularity since it began in 1971, with bodyboard shaping still a niche craft in Australia. Those in the industry say there are just three custom craftsmen left nationally, all based in New South Wales. They're supporting efforts to rejuvenate the sport, including a re-launch of a prestigious bodyboard invitational - Cronulla's Shark Island Challenge.
00:00Just off the coast of Cronulla sits a rocky outcrop, famous for its heavy barrelling waves.
00:09It's home to the Shark Island Challenge, which sees the world's best bodyboarders test their limits.
00:16It's quite unique to any other wave around the world. It's handmade for bodyboarding.
00:21I don't think you can describe it. I've tried many times. I don't know. It's just a surreal feeling that.
00:26The challenge was relaunched in 2024 after a six-year break.
00:31I really feel like bodyboarding went through a bit of a recession, so to speak, and now it's starting to rebuild itself and getting back to its grassroots.
00:38Behind the scenes, three Australian bodyboard shapers are keeping alive what's become a niche craft.
00:46There were large-scale manufacturers at one point, and then it kind of trickled down to just the custom board shapers.
00:52Mark Rousseau has been shaping boards for more than three decades and works with pro bodyboarder Michael Osler.
00:59The shape and contours must be fine-tuned to boost performance for each individual.
01:05They might lack specifics in terms of their tail finish, or they want the board to do something it's not doing,
01:11and I'll recommend a few features that they can add to the board.
01:14Up the coast, in Port Macquarie, Glenn Taylor is also transforming blank pieces of foam into high-performance bodyboards,
01:23a craft he first started 35 years ago.
01:27I guess it's more just the love and the passion of bodyboarding that keeps me going,
01:31and there still is a demand for custom-made bodyboards.
01:34It's not as popular as it was back in the late 90s, early 2000s.
01:39Over at Port Stephens, bodyboard shaper Adam McHugh says the industry and sourcing materials has become tougher,
01:47but it still has a strong future.
01:50The bodyboards that I make and sell, they go all over the world.
01:53I sell to California, I've sold to Canary Islands, I've even sold to Israel.
01:59There's a grassroots push to get more people to give bodyboarding a go.
02:04That includes attracting more women to the largely male-dominated sport.
02:09I'll see you ladies out there.
02:11This year is the first time there's been a women's division in the Shark Island Challenge.
02:16Attracting more young people is also a priority.
02:19We are putting a lot of time and effort into generating grass-root stuff for kids,
02:24because that's where the future of our sport is.
