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 crucial to get the right fit between you and your board.

These days there are many different surfboards to choose from. As a result, surfers who do not have an ongoing relationship with a competent shaper, may have difficulty deciding what type of surfboard would best suit them. In addition, different manufacturers, magazine articles and forums make different promises and claims about various types of boards. 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. For example recently, so called volume calculators have emerged on various websites. These calculators purport to accurately assess how much volume you need in your new board. However in truth, these devices are entirely lacking in empirical foundation and scientific validity and are simply another form of marketing. In reality, there is no substitute for a detailed consultation with an experienced shaper.

At Miller Surfboards, whether you are a raw beginner or a highly experienced surfer, 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. From the moment you start talking with Grant, you will realize that you are not talking with an ordinary surfboard shaper. Rather, you are in direct contact with a professional who knows surfboards inside and out, who cares about his craft, and who is totally focussed on your situation.

Our level of personal service and attention to detail is in the superior category. Approximately 8-10 weeks after you receive your new board, Grant will contact you personally to see how the board is performing. After that, he remains available for you to consult with, or to advise you on any surfing related issue, should the need arise. The nature and quality of this relationship is very similar to that experienced by professional surfers with their respective shapers. What inevitably occurs through this process, is a progressive enhancement of your surfing experience. If you require the finest in surfboards, not the cheapest, then you have come to the right place.

Grant Miller has been designing and shaping surfboards, both here and internationally, for the past 41 years and has shaped in excess of 22,000 boards.

Check our testimonials. Welcome.

How do I order?

Surfboards can be ordered in person from Grant by prior arrangement, at Boyne Mountain near Termeil on the NSW South Coast.
Simply call him on - 0410 770 374 to arrange a time.
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 at Termeil, couriered along the East Coast or hand delivered (see FAQ for details).

We will happily trade in your used Miller board on a new custom surfboard.

We supply Ocean and Earth products at competitive prices and can provide leashes, grips, boardbags and 10mm multi travel bags on request. Simply ask Grant at time of ordering or call him for an obligation free quote.
Ocean and Earth are manufacturers of high quality surfing accessories. They are a 100% Australian owned and operated company based at Sussex Inlet on the New South Wales South Coast.

" Although dealing with a shaper might seem like you are purchasing a board, to a large extent you are really purchasing a service. Grant's level of service was exceptional - kept me up to date during a difficult time for him*, returned calls very quickly, delivered when promised and delivered a board that was exactly as promised. He was extremely easy to talk to and genuinely interested in what I wanted and how to make the best board for me, rather than what was easiest for him. Little things, like extra glassing round the fins and tail, are very well thought out and add to the quality of the final product. The custom spray was a bit of an extravagance but was done perfectly - not only does Grant provide a great service but he surrounds himself with quality assistants. This was my first custom board, but I see no reason to ever again buy off the rack, well at least while Grant is still around. ~ Chris Age 43. "

* Note from Grant Miller. Chris ordered his board from my bedside at Milton Hospital in early November 2012, a few days after my admission with a very serious spinal injury.

Grant Miller, Ujung Bocur July 16th 2012 -- Excerpt from diary : “woke early, surf big. Triple to 5 times overhead. Only a few guys out but not many taking off. Paddled the 7'6” off the corner and out with dry hair and straight into a real big one on the outside. Dropping down the face felt like ages with a huge roar behind me, full power off the bottom and up high flying free. Fade back and then out over the top screaming. 3 hour session, no falls, a career high point at 54”.

Monday, 2 May 2022

THE LAST POST

INDUSTRY

SEMI-RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT    WEBSITE COMING DOWN SOON

After a lot of thought and wrestling within myself, I’ve decided to cut right back on my work schedule. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be shaping the last lot of boards for some time. After that I’m going to California for 3 months. From then on, I’ll only be shaping for my friends and existing clients. The boards will still all be handshaped, but will take longer because I’ll only shape them in batches of perhaps 10 at a time, when enough orders have accumulated. No doubt some people may not want to wait, and that will be as it is. The rest of my life will be given preference over shaping. The prices on the site at present are all out of date and everything is +$120---$150   My glassing prices have gone up again, blanks and fin prices have risen. The website will be taken down permanently in about 6 weeks. My new email address will be millerwaterskate@aol.com   Same phone number 0410770374 Just call me as usual if you want a board and I’ll do my best to work with you.

Here are some of the factors which have contributed to my decision as far as I am aware.

1. Website debacle: The guy who committed to building my new site has not done so. The site was never ready to be launched. It was full of errors, duplications, omissions, and other problems. I sent copies of the site out to 10 of my clients for review. These were people whose opinions I valued and who had been with me for a long time. Most of them had criticisms, some minor and some major. These major criticisms mirrored my own. The guy who arranged the build turned out to be like Morrison. Big on promises and rhetoric, and low on performance. I had written new content and put significant effort into the new site and so naturally I was extremely disappointed. I had paid him in full, in advance, in trust. A serious mistake. He lied to me in various ways. His "developer" was also a person of questionable value.

2. Lack of industry recognition: Like all highly successful people I have a certain amount of ego involvement in what I’ve been doing for 45 years. During my career I have developed various design innovations which have only once received any significant recognition. That was the Waterskate in 1999, where Tracks mag gave me a double page spread. I will always be grateful to the then editor Wayne Dart for that. I have also consistently lobbied in support of the Australian surfboard industry, particularly as it was being white anted by the thieves of Asia and those Australian shapers who supported them. Naturally this ruffled many feathers amongst magazine and website “journalists” who were being compromised by the advertising revenue they were receiving from these companies. Consequently, I received no coverage when coverage was deserved. About four years ago, one of the owners of White Horses magazine committed to including me in a design article. “Oh yes Grant, we should have done it years ago. You totally deserve it, I'm really sorry” he said on the phone. “I’ll get the editor to call you”. After I inquired who the current editor was, and then telling him that I refused to deal with that person for ethical reasons, he said “no problem, we’ll call you after the new guy starts in a few months”.

Four years ago now, I’ve heard nothing. There are significant cliques within the industry. Mostly, inclusion in these cliques depends on your advertising budget and or your propensity for sucking up hard. I never advertised much because I always had plenty of work. I never sucked up. No inclusion. Midget used to complain about this in the 70’s and told me all about it, so it’s nothing new but it still hurts. Some of these cliques are controlled or heavily influenced by ex-professional surfers who I once surfed against. Readers can form their own view about these matters.

3. State of the industry: Again, the industry in many respects is like the Morrison government. Big on gimmickry, false claims, and a corresponding lack of integrity. Like a rotten apple, lovely exterior, rotten interior. There have always been gimmicks and bullshit but now these have been developed into an artform. There are shapers claiming to be handshapers who are using machine shapes. There is file sharing and copying by some of the computer cutters. The whole issue of board buyers’ guides is fraught with dishonesty and a lack of transparency. Some shapers ride in the slipstream of their father’s achievements. Young, inexperienced shapers can pass themselves off however they like with the click of a mouse. At the same time, beautiful shapers like Paul Hutchinson remain in the shadows, receiving no recognition after a lifetime of devotion to shaping. People name their boards after iconic surfing movies. Then get B grade surfers to promote them. Really, is that the best you can do? When I began shaping in 1978, the best shapers were generally also the best surfers. Self generated feedback has always been the most valuable.

4. Growing older and more freedom required: Approaching 65 this year, I thought, “how many more years will I be able to surf at a decent level and surf in good sized waves?” A level I’m happy with. Who knows? But for sure it will be less, rather than more. My good friends down here Les, Murray and I are all 65 this year. I’m currently riding longer boards than I really want to be. I want to be fitter and yet life marches on. My hips, shoulders, knees, and back are all good as they say, but for how long? From around 1985 to 1999 I wandered the world shaping and surfing. I want some more of that, starting with the US in July. I wouldn’t say I’ve suffered an existential crisis, just an increasing awareness of how quickly life is passing. Good friends are dying around me, injuries occur. You all know this. It’s time for me now.

THE FUTURE

As mentioned above, I’ll be in California from July 21st until October 18th. Hopefully leaving home with a Labor government installed.

Into San Diego first and getting my 1971 Kombi back on the road. It needs at least a new transmission after my last Mexico trip and no doubt other stuff. It’s been 10 or 11 years since it was started. My friend Tim is looking after it on his farm in the high desert inland from SD. While I’m working on the VW I’ll be surfing in Imperial Beach, the last beach before Mexico. You can see the Tijuana bullring from my friend Benny’s house where I’ll be staying initially. What a trip eh? Then visiting Peter Fahrenkamp, an old friend, up the coast a bit and then up to Big Sur in central Cal. The scene of many adventures. Eventually I’ll either drive or fly to Northern Oregon to visit Bob Badenoch, one of my best friends. An ex VW mechanic of great skill and a very funny guy. Then just wandering about. Hopefully ending up down at Pascuales in mainland Mexico.

Home in October. Work on my property on Boyne Ridge and surf.

My heartfelt thanks go to all my clients, some who have become good friends, for supporting me over these many years. You have enabled me to live the life of my choice, and to be in the position which I am now in. Also my sincere thanks to Daniel Simmons who built my existing website nearly 20 years ago, and to my friend Craig who has maintained it so well for perhaps the past 15 years. Being so low tech, I could never have done this alone.

I have always followed my heart, my instincts in life, as I am doing now.

Grant Miller