Shaping, testing, shut downs. Now production.
The present that started it all.
I feel lucky to have been born into a life where surfing, fishing, and being salty was the norm. I first learned to surf when I was seven, but from what I remember, I was only about four years old when I first learned to bodysurf. I was taught by my dad, who was a keen bodysurfer. I’ve always bodysurfed. When the waves weren’t quite right for surfing, I’d ditch my board in the sand dunes and hit the shoreys.
For my first 40 years of bodysurfing, I didn’t use flippers or a handplane. I honestly didn’t know any better. I just thought that’s what bodysurfing was.
Then one day, while checking the surf at home on the Gold Coast, the tide was too high and the outside banks weren’t breaking. Meanwhile, the shorebreak was pumping. Leaving my board in the car, I went out for a swim. Pulling into a few barrels but not making them, I thought for the first time, “If I had a handplane, maybe I’d make some of these?”
That Christmas, my wife bought me one. I was psyched to get it, but when I finally took it for a surf, I thought it sucked. I didn’t like how it surfed or swam, and I was pretty bummed. But at the time, I was doing some surfboard repairs in the garage. Looking at the leftover resin, a simple idea hit me: how about I use this to try make a handplane.
Learning the art of shaping, glassing and (especially) sanding.
That’s how Handy started back in 2020. The first handplane took me nearly three months. I had no idea what I was doing. Even though I had always repaired my own surfboards, I kept over-sanding straight back down to the foam. I quickly realised that sanding is an art form that takes patience and a lot of practice.
When it was finally finished, I took it down to Narrowneck, a local beach break near my house for a test run. Catching my first few waves, I knew straight away I was on the right track. The slide felt incredible.
Then, suddenly, I was surrounded by a crew of bodysurfers. I’d never seen so many bodysurfers in one spot. I was baffled. Here I was testing my very first shape, and I’d accidentally paddled straight into the Goldie Sliders lineup.
One of them asked what I was riding. I told him I made it, and he gave me a classic, “Good on ya!” Another bloke looked at my bare feet and asked, “Don’t you use flippers?” Right then, the full picture of what a handplane could do clicked into place. After tagging them on Instagram that afternoon, the first real interest in Handy was born.
The Handy evolution
For the next four years, Handy became a process of prototyping, testing, and trying wild ideas. Every board was a lesson. Take it out for a few surfs, see how it went, then head back to the garage for tweaks. It was all about seeing what worked, and what would genuinely give a bodysurfer an advantage out in the water.
As the shapes evolved, so did the interest. People from all over the world started reaching out, wanting to get their hands on one. What had started as a personal quest for a better handplane was turning into something much bigger than I’d ever planned for.
Then the council knocked on my door and I had to shut it down.
It was shattering. But it forced me to rethink everything – not just production, but who I’m making these for and why. That setback became the starting point for doing this properly.
Inspired by surfboard DNA
Those years in the garage taught me what makes a handplane actually perform. Handy’s core design philosophy is simple: transfer high-performance surfboard design into a compact, streamlined handplane.
The difference: tapered rails, concaves and channels.
Flip a Handy handplane over and you’ll see the same bottom contours found on high-performance surfboards. Concaves generate speed by compressing water beneath the board and redirecting it through the channels, which add drive and release at the tail. Combined with our signature tapered rails, the result is a board that holds a tight line in steep, critical sections, offering drive and control whether you’re trimming across a green face or tucking into a heavy shorey.
The Handy lineup.
The Hippy Trippy – The all-rounder
A genuine surf craft featuring a swallow tail, concaved bottom, and a single channel through the tail. Shaped to perform, it froths in point breaks and larger waves, but it’s just as happy tucking into a shorey or handling mushy surf.
The Wish Me Luck – The pocket rocket
A compact, fast, dredgy pocket machine. Tapered rails, a concaved bottom with four channels, and an FCS fin plug pack serious performance into a smaller shape designed to lock you deep and steep into the barrel.
The Model H – The flagship
The high-performance board that started the viral conversation. Wider and fuller with four deep channels, a bat tail, and signature tapered rails, it handles serious size and speed flawlessly, but remains incredibly fun on small days. Available in standard triaxial fibreglass or our premium, ultra-responsive Carbon Fibre Option.
Shaped to perform. Built to last.
Every Handy bodysurfing handplane represents a lifetime of chasing stoke, a passion for functional design, and a commitment to innovation and premium craftsmanship. These handplanes are built to deliver pure stoke in all conditions, for all skill levels.
See you in the lineup,
Klooty
