My friend the skateboard artist

Last year in Thailand was in my opinion officially the "Year Of The Skateboard". It didn't matter how old, how young, how overweight or how conservative you normally are - skateboarding was suddenly the most important thing in your life. I should clarify that it was a particular style of skateboarding known as "Surfskate". Surfskates work differently than traditional skateboards because the front truck pivots. This seemingly insignificant difference actually instantly transforms the way you can power up the board. You no longer need to push with one foot but instead can pump the board like you would a surf board.

Im pretty sure anyone reading this in Asia is already very familiar with surfskating as they have been impossible to escape from. I thought it would be cool to design my own surfskate board and instead of buying one ready made with branding and colours and grip patterns already designed.

I found on Facebook many entrepreneurs in Bangkok that were molding blank decks to order made of layers of rubber tree ply, so I ordered a box of blank decks then contacted my artist friend Khun Chai to float some ideas on him about how best to paint and finish the boards.

My idea was to make the boards appear to have been dipped in some kind of liquid mineral element, they would be swirled with different shades of coloured paint and then finished with a strong coat of clear epoxy to preserve the finish.

Khun Chai achieved this by mixing bright orange and yellow water paints with white streaks, all the while applying the paint with sometimes a sponge and sometimes a simple brushing technique, as the paint started to dry he would spray water on to it and allow the colours to mix and flow together - like I imagined molten lava would appear.

After 24 hours drying time he carefully sprayed a thick layer of epoxy resin, allowed it to dry then sanded and repeated. In total there was four layers of epoxy on the board which gave the artwork and the dicut logo sticker a thick protective coating, that even the roughest use could not damage.

I hope you like the end result! I have a unique surfskate board now that I know will never meet its double!