THE MISC. /MISCELLANEOUS/ , ACCORDING TO DYLAN GRAVES

Maybe, if there’s anything you can learn from a Haydenshapes, it’s that boards don’t have to look a certain way to surf a certain way. Indeed, you can thread the tube of your life on a 5’4” (Hypto Krypto), or feel the magic in a shape like the Holy Grail that was originally a big wave gun for Ben Wilkinson (before it was hacked in half). And in the MISC, for instance, Dylan Graves shows us that you don’t have to be confined to groovy high-lines on a twin-fin. On the contrary, you can put that twinnie to work. As shown in this recent edit, solely on a 5’5” MISC (twin-fins and a trailer), Dylan puts one hell of an edit together clicking air-reverses and backside methods and laying that twinnie on a rail. Which begs the question…can a twin-fin be hi-performance? Dylan surely thinks so…

Interview By: Beau Flemister

Haydenshapes: Dylan! That recent edit of yours on the MISC makes me very happy when I watch. How long did you spend filming for this edit and where did you film?

Dylan Graves: It took us one whole dog year to film this. [laughs] But we just shot around California because that is where I am currently residing with my wifey.

Nice, and the mission for the edit was to solely surf that shape?

Mmm, the mission has always been pretty miscellaneous…and it just so happens that that’s the name of the board model, so we lucked on there…

Haha. Naturally. Well, tell me what you love about that shape…

In my opinion, it is precisely the board you are looking for to put a smile on your face in below-average waves. So it is a perfect board for most days in Cali…Basically, you get that twin-fin lift and glide, but with a little extra control and trust with that baby trailer thrown in there. It’s a beautiful mix of sensations.

Well-put. And what size/dims were you riding, or normally ride?

Mine was actually a stock board…So the dims were 5’5” 19 1/4” 2 3/8” I believe.

And what fin setups would you recommend with a MISC?

I use the captain CF Twin Especial…I never felt the need to experiment without the trailer — this setup felt perfect.

You kind of answered this already, but what would you say are the ideal conditions/types of waves for a MISC?

I’d say conditions that normally wouldn’t inspire you to put on a wet wetsuit [laughs], so par to sub par conditions and all of a sudden, it seems worth it on the MISC.

What’s the best wave your dog, Guy, got on that board?

Guy made the drop of his life on that board! No shit, I thought I pushed him into one that was too steep…And I guess that goes to show that this board is the real deal. Guy is sticking hair-pin drops, brah.

Haha! Looked like it. I feel like the MISC has been branded as a high performance twinnie, but what kind of styles/surfers would you say it suits?

I think any and all are welcome. This board NEEDS to be in your quiver for whenever you need a little extra salsa in your life…I would love to see someone like Asher Pacey or Toryn Martin on this shape, it seems right up their alley, you know?

I agree. What do you love about the MISC in comparison to other Haydenshapes?

It’s cool to see how Hayden continues to experiment with blending high- performance capabilities to the concept of something like a classic twin. I love riding old school boards but it gets to a certain point after a few sessions where I feel I wish they had a scotch more high performance cause that’s what I grew up using/wanting in all my boards. I can’t help but want to have every board more or less do it all. But I feel Hayden has accomplished that with this one, especially is grovelly waves and I’m grateful.

If the MISC was a spirit animal, what would it be?

The MISC= GUY [Dylan’s dog], and GUY=LOVE.