Slater Designs FRK Shaped by Dan Mann

Kelly Slater has been called a lot of things over the years. Champ. GOAT. The King. And, of course, the Freak.

When Kelly Slater approached Dann Mann about designing him a surfboard, Dann knew exactly what he wanted to make Slater—and what it should be called.

The FRK is medium-wave performance machine with an aesthetically pleasing outline, medium rails, and a rounded pintail that almost gives the surfboard a quasi twin-tip look. In a word, the board looks fast—and if Slater’s performances on it have been any indication, that’s exactly what it is.

The funny thing is, the FRK almost didn’t get ridden. Dann shaped it for Slater in 2015, but Slater gets a lot of boards shaped for him, and the original design ended up sitting in a garage for two years before a friend of Slater’s took it out for a spin.

He had a blast on the surfboard, and called Slater up telling him he needed to try the board out. Slater said he knew it was a winner before he even completed his first ride. He started riding the board a ton, putting together mind-blowing performances at Trestles, J-Bay, the Surf Ranch, and the North Shore.

Firewire released a new version of the FRK the FRK I-Bolic.

Featuring a moderate volume and the flexibility of five fin boxes, this is a standard high-performance surfboard with all of the necessary ingredients—and nothing else. Dan Mann’s goal was to distill a surfboard down to the bare essentials, creating a design that is so clean you forget it’s even there.

That sounds like just the sort of surfboard I’d want to ride as winter gives way to spring and we enjoy maybe the most fun season of the year in Hawaii, when smaller north swells and early season souths abound.

Hawaiian South Shore just restocked Slater Designs FRK's, and we are super excited to see what the surfboard can do under the feet of the Hawaiian South Shore Ohana.

If you are looking for a surfboard that puts you so in touch with the wave you forget there’s fiberglass between your feet and the water, then this is the answer. Just don’t forget to come to the shop and check it out!