Nev Hyman had been building surfboards in
Australia for 35 years. In 2005, he teamed up with
Mark Price and a group of longtime surfing friends
in Carlsbad, California, to form Firewire Surfboards.
This company thrives on innovation and was
responsible for the first major change in surfboard
composition and assembly methods in 40 years.
Rather than polyurethane resin and polyurethane
foam, Firewire’s boards were composed of expanded
polystyrene (EPS) foam and epoxy resins. Hyman
and Price believed that this composition for the
surfboard core, along with aerospace composites
for the deck skin and balsa wood rails (the outside
edge),created a more flexible and maneuverable
product that would attract top surfers and set
Firewire apart from its competitors.