Courtney Potter - 3DFINS

When and where did you learn to surf?
I learnt to Surf at City beach Perth western Australia, around the age of 9.

What do you love about surfing?
I love the fact its a strange mix of Art/Sport/Exploration, it keeps you fit mentally and physically and it's never boring.

Do you have a session that stands out as your most memorable?
not really one but there is a group sessions in my mind I play over, when I need to.

What is your go-to board at the moment?
I've been mixing it up alot lately so anything goes, I'm in to going as fast as I can, so that's the inspiration for what board I pick.

Who/ what inspired you to follow this path?
Ive always liked to read about the innovators in surf board/fin design, they always have a cool story of struggle and achievenment. The story's are like the great artist storys they inspire you to go against the grain and to be remembered.

What was your first job?
A Bottling Factory, it was hell and inspired me to do something I liked no matter what.

The SURFMACHINE and 3D fins are just a couple of your brainchildren, tell us a little bit about how they came to be?
I had been working in the Toy industry in the USA for about 7 years. We worked mainly on flying toys. I learnt alot in that time and wanted to apply it to Surfing some how. There really wasnt a cool surfing toy that you could play with at home, so I came up with the Surfmachine and a little animation movie Tweak and Culmsy that won a few awards. 
At the same time I was messing with some crazy Areodynamic designs for all sorts of flying toys and started to apply some of these to Surfboard fins. I have a Fin design based on this knowlege that is so out there, it has been hard for people to accept, but it works amazing.

How did you get to the position you are in today?
Lots of tinkering in a shed and not giving up.

What do you love most about the work you do?
I love the fact I can make cool Fin designs and get to test them in the surf, it makes each surf exciting and adds an extra inventive element to the surf life.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Surfing and Traveling with my Awesome wife and kids.

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Posted by: Matthew Ryan, on November 4, 2013
Categories: Interviews

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