Originally from Sydney Australia, Bruce McKee has been one of Europe’s leading shaper designers since 1990 and has currently returned to his home base of Australia to re-launch many a parked project but will continue to maintain his relationships with many friends and production sources world-wide.<\/p>\n
Bruce grew up on Bungan Headland with a tubular reef break for his backyard, situated between Newport Beach to the north, and Bungan to the south. To the west the waterway called Pittwater, a site of many an aquatic vehicle test.<\/p>\n
This area enabled Bruce to become involved in design and production of many aquatic sports products.<\/p>\n
At the age of 22, Bruce, together with partner Mitchell Ross, launched the sport of Ski-boarding or Skurfing, later Wake-boarding, with the worlds first production wakeboard named the` Mcski\u00b4, later named `SSS\u00b4 and ` Wakesnake\u00b4. The roto-moulded plastic design was then launch in the USA in 1983 under the name` Surfski\u00b4, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
Bruce also an active windsurfer, designed and created one of Australia’s biggest selling and ageless designs (the`Capricorn\u00b4) for the` Bombora\u00b4 brand of rotationally moulded sailboards.<\/p>\n
Always eager to expand his design knowledge, Mckee also designed wave-skis for the then three time world champion John Christianson, producing the `Christo\u00b4 range. Prior to that he also worked for the innovative `Raider Skis\u00b4, where he designed paddle-boards, wave-skis, rescue-craft and a large assortment of aquatic products, apart from making his own brand of surfboards under the `Rock Pool\u00b4 label.<\/p>\n
Once a competitor in Australian national water-ski slalom championships and a currently qualified professional snow ski instructor (title achieved at age 20), Bruce considers these experiences combined with the aforementioned, to be vital in his understanding of Hydrodynamics and expertise in high performance aquatic sports product design and manufacture.<\/p>\n
Having shaped, from catamarans to water-skis , Long boards and guns, to every type of short board, Bruce is a world renowned \u2018all round’ shaper, with an eye for precision and many a moulded design credited to his name.<\/p>\n
Mckee’s influences on surfboard design have primarily come from his home area. Bruce was also shaper for `KC\u00b4, `Daniels\u00b4, `Liquid Lips\u00b4 and `Darby\u00b4 surfboards and was surrounded by some of Australia’s best known shapers and manufacturers such as `Aloha\u00b4, `Insight\u00b4, `Energy\u00b4 and `Hot Buttered\u00b4 to name a few.<\/p>\n
Bruce regularly returned to his native Australia to catch up on the current Aussie designs and is also a frequent visitor to Hawaii where he likes to test out his `guns\u00b4(surfboards built for catching big waves).<\/p>\n
Brazil is also a favourite destination for Bruce where his sought after guns have been popular essentials to quivers of surfers travelling to other South American destinations such as Chile and Peru.<\/p>\n
In Hawaii and elsewhere Bruce through the years has supplied many shapers with updates of one of his ongoing interests, an alternative surfboard fin combination, the M4 Quattro quad fin system and also the M5 Multisystem fin concept, to add variety and new life to a stagnant design pool. Bruce is a renowned `gun\u00b4 specialist and is the guy they call when the North Atlantic lows start to crank.<\/p>\n
Throughout his years in Europe, Bruce has shaped boards for a majority of the top pros of the WCT & WQS. He regularly shaped for Sunny Garcia and has had success with riders such as Kaipo Jaquias, John Shimooka, Ross Williams, Johnny Boy Gomes, Kobi & Sunny Aberton, Kurt Nyholm, Occy, Kate Skarret , Russell Winter, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Andy Irons, Neko Padaratz, Steve Clements, Dane Ward, Paul Parkes and a long list of past and present competitors.<\/p>\n
Also no less important are a large group of European competitors, many of whom have been open to trying new concepts providing helpful relationships in the development of alternative surfboard designs, his M4 Quattro fin & M5 multifin system ( the formulas to which are revealed in this web site).<\/p>\n
Mckee had been with the `Pukas\u00b4 company for 12 years as the resident or `in house\u00b4 shaper. There he also produced shapes for the `Town & Country\u00b4 team amongst other brands.
\nBruce also lived and shaped for five years an Portugal where he took advantage of the amazing surf breaks found there. France, also, was also inevitably a frequent destination with it’s fine array of world class breaks that have helped refine Bruce’s visions and concepts, some of the result that can be seen in this web-site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Originally from Sydney Australia, Bruce McKee has been one of Europe’s leading shaper designers since 1990 and has currently returned to his home base of Australia to re-launch many a parked project but will continue to maintain his relationships with … Continue reading