Technology

Styrofoam blanks are the "standard" core of a surfboard because they are lightweight, flexible, affordable, and they can be easily manipulated. This is where we come in! We’ve found that by changing different factors in the growing process, we can end up with mycelium-based products that are way different from one another. The growing conditions, the mushroom genetics, and the substrates used are all factors that change the expression of the mycelium produced. This makes mycelium an extremely adaptable and viable alternative to Styrofoam as well as potentially other types of plastics and foams. 

 

Our process begins with a custom mold we built designed to replicate the ideal environmental conditions both to grow and then bake our mushroom mycelium. Using our trade secret mix of nutrients, substrate, and liquid mushroom culture, we pasteurize and sterilize everything before going into our mold. We let our sample grow for a few days then bake when our sample starts ‘pinning’ or beginning to form the mushroom. After we bake- that's it! We can take our sample out and see what we did right and what we can improve upon in our next experiment. 

 

We source our mushrooms and substrate from different local farms and growers around New England. We use their “waste” to create our blanks. We also use an edible mushroom mycelium, so if it is ingested by a human or animal, no harm will be done (it just won’t taste that good). We’ve thought through every step of our process to ensure that we’re not only delivering the best blank that we can, but that we’re protecting our environment through all of it. 

 

Right now, we’re still in the research and development phase, working on building the perfect three by six foot blank. Once the prototype is complete, we’ll manufacture blanks to send out to our shaper and surfer friends and gather their feedback. If you’d like to be one of these people, let us know by contacting us below :)