Knowing Hayden | Part 2

Naturally linked to Craig Anderson, who’s scored some of his most iconic career moments riding it, the Hypto Krypto design was actually created for Hayden himself in 2007 and was perfected based on his own experiences and feedback. It took 6 years before it became a number one seller around the world. The Hypto Krypto also turns 10 this year and has won ‘Surfboard of the year” in the USA (SIMA Awards) and twice in Australia (SBIA Awards).

Hayden and Craig Anderson have worked together on boards for nearly 15 years – long before either was well known or established. Hayden’s favorite surfer growing up was Kalani Robb. He met him for the first time when he was seated next to him at the 2015 SIMA Awards, the same night Haydenshapes won ‘USA Surfboard of The Year’ and broke Channel Islands seven year winning streak.

And while his path up until this point wasn’t always smooth, Hayden always maintains a positive outlook:

“There were many, many obstacles in the early days. There still are and probably always will be. You have to back yourself. You’ve gotta be prepared to take certain risks that others aren’t.”

Along with this, Hayden has always taken a new and fresh approach to his brand and done things a little differently than most.

“The Haydenshapes voices stems from our brand DNA: technology, design, performance, and aesthetics. We have freedom to do anything and work with anyone and any brand we want to, so as long as it’s true to what Haydenshapes stands for.”

Through this approach and as an extension of what he does within surf, he’s also branched outside his comfort zone and worked on some key projects with the likes of Alexander Wang, Audi and Google, further cementing him as one of the true innovators.

Breaking ground with progression is a real driver for Hayden. He has dreams of coming up with the next big surfboard innovation and if he weren’t a surfboard shaper, he’d probably be a product designer of some description - most likely technology devices. Apparently, his strangest habit is collecting instruction manuals and reading them in depth, cover to cover.

Words: Brad Bricknell
Photos: Chris Wilson of Prospect Refuge for Highsnobiety