Michelle Bautista Layton - Longboard Surfing by our Degree 33 Ambassador

Earlier in the year, we asked Bill if he knew anybody that would be a good fit as a humble, stylish and wave hungry surfer that could put our longboards to the test and help us progress the traditional end of our quiver. In an instant, he had a name and a grin...

The connections we build and nurture in the surfing world come from all walks of life. Some, the least place you'd expect. Others, as organic is it gets. Michelle has been the latter. Her father has been a loyal friend of Bill Minard, riding his shapes for decades. In time, Michelle has followed suit.

Literally raised on a 40 foot sailboat, she's as comfortable as anyone with rolling swell under her feet. An old soul at heart, her favorite aspect of surfing is still setting a high line, flying across the lip with nothing but water ahead of her toes, truly taking flight.

As luck would have it, we paired Bill up with one of her favorite logs to see if we could recreate the magic that board has dished out over the decades. Bill put his take on a timeless noseriding shape, digging deep within his roots as one of San Diego's most quietly celebrated and revered shapers.

The results that followed were simply stunning...

We created this clip to show how purposefully she works the full length of the board. Slowing down the footage reveals an understanding of classic longboarding technique that no surfer can deny. Being a highly skilled longboarder is much more involved than most of us understand. 

How stoked are we to bring Michelle on board? Let's talk numbers. She took 5th at one of the most prestigious longboard invitational events on the planet, the Mexi Logfest, held "somewhere" in Mexico. To set some scale to that accomplishment, she surfed against multiple world champions throughout the contest. Incredible.

More than anything we're stoked to bring Michelle on board because she's one of us. She works hard and plays hard. Starting back up at UCSD, she still finds a way to get her feet in the wax every chance she gets. 

[PC @follyhood]

So, from the crew at Degree 33 Surfboards, welcome to our team of Stoked ambassadors. We're blessed to have you with us!