Trip Forman: Welcome to the Real Board Loft. I'm Trip Forman. Today we got Brent Riley with JS is with us here at Real. Brent, welcome.
Brent Riley: Yeah, thanks. Good to be back. And we are here. Brent has some new boards that are dropping in fall 26 and we're getting a little preview. So we wanted to bring everybody kind of behind the scenes on the fall drop on new JS boards. Behind us we have JS Monsta Youth, El Baron, Big Baron, and the Bull Run. All really popular boards in the JS line, but with some new tweaks in these boards for fall 26. Brent, let's jump into it. Monsta high performance boards like you called it like one of the pinnacle boards in your shortboard lineup, the Monsta. Tell us in in your words how does the Monsta stand out from all the other proven JS models?
Trip Forman: So the Monsta for this year is probably the biggest evolution of the Monsta series. So, you've probably seen different iterations of the Monsta in years past, the latest being Monsta 10 and then the newest update being the Monsta. So right here is the Monsta Youth, but all in all that this model sits between the zero gravity and what the past Monsta 10 was. So essentially you're finding something that's going to be a little bit more user friendly in those 2 to 4 foot days where you probably wouldn't be surfing that board in the Monsta 10 on that sort of day in the past. So it is just going to be use more little more user friendly, a little bit wider point forward, a little bit less nose rocker than what you'd see in the Monsta 10.
Brent Riley: All right. So, a little bit more all around, a little bit more accessible. Exactly. A little more of an allrounder. Little bit more built-in speed. Exactly. Yeah. You know, speed there. And then this particular spray that you see, this is available in all the youth models. Golden Child Youth, Zero Gravity Youth, and the Monsta Youth that you see here. A couple different colorways. You have a gray, a red, and then a blue option there. You guys do a great job with the youth boards like putting cool sprays on them.
Trip Forman: Yeah. No, like I'm hoping that you know I can maybe do a custom myself with the same spray. I think it stands out. It's kind of eye popping and yeah, I think we do a good job year in year out just on the updates with the sprays. So, I'm excited for this one. I think all the youth out there, maybe the younger individuals will be happy about this one.
Brent Riley: Well, your surfing is still youth enough that you can you could be riding a youth sprint.
Trip Forman: I could probably do a little step off on this thing. I might have to take this thing for myself for later. So, we'll see. Next up is the El Baron. And you know, if I were to look at this board, I don't know, maybe from 10 ft away, I would say nothing's changed, but there is there is some secret in the new sauce. What's dropping in this board?
Brent Riley: Yeah. So, essentially, you know, it does look the same like you said, but as you get up to close and personal with it, you see it as have a different feel, and that is being the EPS stringer EPS that we have as far as the technology for it as opposed to the PE which we had prior. So just an update there as far as the available tech for this particular model. I think it just suits this sort of outline really well and a lot of their sort of smaller wave models as well which we'll I'm alluding to and we'll talk about here with the bull run. But yeah, no more PE out of the in the line. Everything is going to get kind of consolidated to the EPS that were PE prior. Essentially.
Trip Forman: Okay. So to clarify, previous to this drop, this board was a PU core, a PU blank, right? A standard PU blank with epoxy resin. Exactly. And now it's a Stringer EPS blank with epoxy resin.
Brent Riley: Exactly. Yeah. Stringer EPS in here. So slightly different take from what the PE has. Slightly different feel. I think it will just be a tad more lively than what the PE had before. I think that's just with the foam combination. With this model, I think you'll see a bit more pop to it. And it's hitting a lighter weight as well. A little bit lighter weight overall. Not not overly light where you're going to lose momentum. So it's not going to be something that you're, you know, hit a bit of chop and you're getting thrown around. It's going to kind of keep that momentum still at the same point, but will be a tad bit lighter than what the PE was. We've had really good results with with this board, the El Baron, in people looking for a model like this and specifically a size like this, but in a in a board that has more curve, like more outline curve, more rocker, more foil on the rails to fit into rounder waves, you know? So, if you're riding like a a big baron or a board of that style in softer, slopier waves and then going to this like when it's tubing or like kind of more juice to the wave, it's a really for people that are like riding bigger boards, it it's a really I think this thing's a weapon in really in really good surf where like rather than sizing down to something that's too small like kind of fantasy stuff like oh I think I can I think I can then go to that next level and pumping surf like actually just doing like a fine tweak not really on the dimensions of the board but more on the curve of the board.
Trip Forman: Yeah, for sure. I think it it does suit maybe a slightly better wave or more top to bottom wave than you know super gutless, you know, trenched out sort of wave. And I think it just really really fits like all ranges of surfers. You know, someone coming down from a long board wanting to ride something shorter or short border looking to scale things up to a mid-length. Yeah. So there's a lot of, you know, crossover there with different sort of styles and and for what people are looking for, but generally speaking, it will probably suit just a slightly better wave. Or like somebody's riding a Big Baron at home like in their everyday conditions and then they're going to go to like Nicaragua which has like offshore wind and you know more more tubing surf like this would be a great like travel board for Yeah. It'll allow you allow you to get a little bit later on the drops and and still hold it, you know, with that bit of flip that you'll see in the nose. Like that's going to just allow for you know, a slightly later take off and then more critical section. Cool. That's the that's the El Baron. Next we're going up to the Big Baron. And this is this is a board that just doesn't stop being popular. Like how long has the the Big Baron been in the line now?
Brent Riley: Yeah, it's been about two and a half three years that we've had the Big Baron in the line. It just think hasn't slowed down. The the update you'll see here is that this is in the PU construction. So once again taking the PE out of the the line. Which we currently had available as well as carbotune. Carbotune goes unchanged. Still have that things chugging along really well which is also part of the big baron tech options. But the PU here, this is in a resin tint. This is in the light gray resin tint. We also offer a tan maroon which is kind of like a wine look to it. And then like a military aer. So a couple of color options there. We did take out just the the glueins that you'll see. So it's just that single stringer through here. And yeah, that classic PU foam and and glass job that you you see on most boards.
Trip Forman: Okay. So it looks like this board has like a substantial stringer. It's got like a a pretty solid stringer in it.
Brent Riley: Slightly thicker stringer than what you'd see you know in a high performance shortboard. So you'll have a bit, you know, a little bit more weight to the the board than you would like the the El Baron, but I think that goes by design. You know, this twin pin likes a little bit more weight. It's going to carry that momentum through the turn really well without being overly heavy. It does have a bit more weight than what you'd see in like the El Baron.
Trip Forman: It's got like more momentum.
Brent Riley: More momentum. Exactly. Yeah. So, it's going to carry that in and out of the turn. And then paddling, I think it will help things a bit too, especially if there's a little bit of wind up the face. What is it that keeps this board relevant, you know, for three for three years? Like what why are people keep coming back? I mean, I I have my own opinion on it, but like what are you seeing like from your viewpoint? It just makes it fun. Like it's it's a skatier feel. And just where you put your weight, it's going to kind of give you different feels and sensations just being on the board. I mean, you felt it too like like you know, if you get back on the tail, it has a bit of engine there. If you get up forward, like it's going to have that a lot of momentum. And then just you can fine-tune it just with, you know, the A and the B dimmers that we do with these. So if you're, you know, maybe a a heftier guy, you're probably going to go with the B dim set. That's just going to have more foam, a little more width. If you're kind of a string bean or, you know, narrower outline you're probably go with the A dim. So as you scale up, you just kind of find the right dim range that you're looking for, depending on kind of where you're surfing and what you're looking for in the No, I mean that the A and the B dims for those that don't know about them like JS offers like a it's almost like a slim dim and then like a big like a beefier dim set on on the key sizes and and you know we were in Tavarua we actually had like a bunch of guests had this board at Tavarua and that it's a point break wave you know real slopey and the big baron was just ruling that wave and it's a great place to show where this sort of design will work really well. And also like a lot of these surfers were big were on the bigger side and like those B dim sets were just really really valuable in conditions like that with bigger surfers.
Trip Forman: Yeah. Know it's it's kind of cool to hear the positive feedback on a wave like that where this board I think really does shine and most people have you know that sort of wave close to their home so they can kind of relate and if not you know going down to a trip like you know down where you guys went you know I think it it just suits it really well. So it's a great travel board. With that being said too, the and I think the PU poly construction in this board like that momentum like the really like focusing on the momentum because this board is a it's a swooper and a carver like not it's not a snapper. As much as it it's like a a speed generating board like the the speed and the momentum you'll be able to carry and then also across like kind of any uneven like water surfaces is going to be noticeable.
Brent Riley: Yeah. Yeah. If that's what you're after, I think the PU fits it really well. And if you do like that sparkier, maybe maybe float on top of the water a bit more, the Carbotune's available as well for that individual.
Trip Forman: And what about Hi-Fi 3 also available?
Brent Riley: Yeah, so no hi-fi 3 is not going to be available for this guy.
Trip Forman: Okay, so it's either going to be PU poly or carbotune in the big baron. Correct. Okay, awesome. So that's the big baron. The board that just keeps keeps being big and keeps going fast. Last up is the bull run. And so this is a Mark Occhilupo model and has been a big hit in the in the JS lineup for a in a lot of different like pockets. Like we see the big big ones selling really well to like the diehard lifelong Okchilupo fans. We see the small ones selling to like the next generation coming up and riding them. Like one of our team riders, Will Forrest, is like stuffing a small one into every freaking tube all up and down the island. And it's a board that and also like you guys promote this board as a a small wave specialist as well, but it seems to like kind of go outside the small wave game. And kind of cover a lot of cover a lot of bases. So let's talk about this board and the updates.
Brent Riley: Yeah. So the bull run's been a really good one for us. The whole team has been loving it, you know, especially guys like even Lennix Smith down in Oz. Younger dude but was riding this thing, you know, down on the point breaks down there. Sets his edge really well with that rounded tail. So that's that kind of classic Okchilupo tail that you'd see on the raging bull and the bullseye in the past had wider point forward. So it is going to be a little bit more user friendly on the smaller gutless stuff. But at the same time that round tail it's it has a lot of hold. I was talking with Oliver Kurtz down in Florida and he had you know one of the bigger swells this past year. He was riding the the bull run and he was saying you know that this board would probably be the board if he could pick any board in the line that he could just be like a Swiss Army knife. The bull run.
Trip Forman: Yeah. So, he was really impressed with it and you know some of the stuff he was surfing was probably the biggest looking Florida I've seen less on video. I'm sure it's been bigger or whatnot but hurricanes but yeah like I was really impressed that it was able to hold like it it did. So just seeing that in action has been you know really good to see you know obviously Occhilupo testing it and before it went into production you know really satisfied with the outline and the way it looks. So I think it just fits a good again a good wide range of surfers. And then this tech right here, this is the new EPS stringer epoxy that we talked previously with the El Baron. So, it's going to be available in three different options, you know, the PU still, the hi-fi, and then this will sit somewhere right in the middle at the EPS stringer epoxy.
Brent Riley: Okay, so this could be great for someone, you know, just wanting that classic all-white sort of PU look just with EPS stringer epoxy and the technology. So, again, like this is something that 10 ft out you would think it was PU poly, right? Like a standard PU, but it's not. Right. So, it's got an EPS blank epoxy resin. But it has a stringer.
Trip Forman: Has a stringer in there. Yep. Yep. So, that's that's kind of the three different options you'll see with this bull run. As well as the Flamefish, the Subzero, all have the EPS stringer and epoxy as an option. So, we kind of just allowed that option to be there for some of the models. We don't generally stock a lot of the PUs in. So it's just another option for the customer maybe not wanting to hi-fi all the bells and whistles this is kind of the next tier down still EPS feel lively and not the PU which is going to give you just a different feel all together so it's just another option for you know a customer to try and feel and yeah it's been been great feedback so far so we're we're happy with the options now I think the like kind of thinking about how far outside of the initial design target like this board is being surfed and surfing really well in um like kind of outperforming like what people thought it was going to do. Adding that stringer is like a super good idea because if you look at how many tubes people are stuffing this thing into like stringerless epoxy I think there's a general confusion about epoxy in general like whenever you say epoxy people say oh it's durable cuz it's epoxy but if you don't have a stringer in the board and and you're talking about boards breaking in half then it's not as strong as it could be like adding that stringer I think for this board is super smart because people are are like what you just said about Oliver they are out surfing it compared to the initial the initial design of it, you know, so and so having EPS epoxy stringered, you're going to get the lighter weight and like kind of the more electric feel for small waves, but then you're also going to have the stringer like when when the surf turns on.
Brent Riley: Yeah, it's kind of that I guess somewhat new school EPS feel. I know it's been around for a minute, but then the traditional sort of stringer, you know, surfboard feel that you get. So, it's a good blend of both. I think it'll be a great weight. This thing's 35 liters and it has, you know, a somewhat lighter feel, but you know, you're able to glass a little bit heavier schedule being EPS foam. So, all in all, yeah, we're really happy with the technology and I mean, this this model's been a kind of a a really good one for us. It's ever since release and we're we're happy to unveil the the new tech there as well.
Trip Forman: Awesome. Well, Brent, hey, thank you so much for joining us at the shop. Viewers, if you have any questions on the fall JS drop, or would like to place an order for one either stock or custom, you can always reach us at the shop 252-987-6000 or look us up online realwatersports.com/surfing. Thanks for tuning in.
