94 Iain "Ratso" Buchanan - The Eternal Grom
Can you stay surf-stoked into your 60s—and still out-paddle the groms? Iain “Ratso” Buchanan proves it’s possible.
This episode dives into the life and lessons of one of New Zealand’s most accomplished surfers and coaches. From humble beginnings and DIY wetsuits to judging the WSL’s best, Ratso shares how to extend your surfing life, read the ocean like a pro, and why so many surfers—especially beginners—are missing the most important skills.
Learn what actually holds back New Zealand surfers and how to level up by heading across the ditch
Hear untold stories of surf culture evolution—from rugby jerseys to custom twin-fins
Discover life-saving advice for adult learners, including the #1 ocean skill you must master first
Press play now to learn how a lifelong frother stays sharp, safe, and stoked—and how you can too.
Iain's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ratsonz/?hl=en
Surf Shop: https://lionrocksurfshop.com
Music: Fernweh by Nachur
Key Points
Ian Buchanan's lifelong passion for surfing, starting from his early years in Christchurch, and his diverse roles in the surfing industry including competitor, coach, shaper, and judge, were discussed.
The evolution of wetsuit technology from the 60s to the present, including homemade wetsuits and the current ease of access to high-quality, affordable wetsuits, was explored.
Ian's advice for young New Zealand surfers to improve their skills by traveling to Australia, where the level of competition and wave quality is higher, was emphasized.
The importance of swimming ability and understanding ocean conditions for adult learners in surfing was highlighted, with Ian sharing his experience and advice.
Ian discussed the influence of experienced surfers, particularly older ones, in reading the ocean and navigating challenging conditions, citing examples of surfers he admires.
Ian shared his current favorite surfboard, a 5'7 20 with a stabilizer, and his experimentation with different board designs and materials, emphasizing the importance of local craftsmanship.
The best and worst surfing advice Ian has received, emphasizing the importance of surfing within one's comfort zone and avoiding dangerous conditions, was discussed.
Outline
Ian Buchanan's Background and Passion for Surfing
Ian Buchanan, born in the 60s, started surfing in the early 70s and has been deeply involved in the surfing industry ever since.
Ian has been a long-time judge for the WSL, a five-time national champion in New Zealand during the 80s, shapes surfboards, owns a surf shop, and was the New Zealand national team coach.
Ian was on the world tour as a competitor when younger and was crowned the Grand Master World Champ in 2011.
Ian's passion for surfing began at an early age, leaving high school at 15 to pursue surfing full-time.
Ian moved to Australia at 16, where they faced high unemployment and started working at Genius Surfboards in Cronulla.
Wetsuit Technology in the 60s
In the 60s, wetsuit technology for young surfers was minimal, often consisting of long Johns with a vest underneath.
Surfers would make their own booties and gloves from sheets of rubber purchased from dive shops.
Before wetsuits, surfers wore rugby jerseys to stay warm in cold water.
Ian's Current Relationship with Surfing
Ian surfs almost every day, describing themselves as a 'grommet at heart'.
Ian's friends often tease them about their passion for surfing.
Ian surfs multiple times a day, regardless of conditions, and has been very lucky with injuries throughout their career.
Ian's Surfing Longevity
Ian attributes their surfing longevity to following their heart and pursuing what they love.
Ian's marriage ended, and they traveled to Europe, following their passion for surfing.
Ian has made many connections in Australia, which have helped in their surfing career, including board making and judging.
Ian's Advice for Young Surfers
Ian advises young New Zealand surfers to travel to Australia to take their surfing to the next level.
Ian mentions that all successful New Zealand surfers, such as Maz, Randy Mason, and Paige, have spent time in Australia.
Ian emphasizes the importance of the quality and consistency of waves in Australia for improving surfing skills.
Ian's Experience as a WSL Judge
Ian describes the experience of judging WSL events as amazing and surreal, seeing the highest level of surfing live.
Ian notes that the level of surfing raises every year and that surfers go much faster on waves than the average person realizes.
Ian highlights the importance of learning to surf different types of waves and reading the ocean to improve one's surfing.
Ian's Most Intense Surfing Experience
Ian's most intense surfing experience was at Sunset, where they got beaten by a wave and had to climb their leg rope to reach the surface.
Ian also mentions memorable waves in Tahiti, J-Bay, and Hawaii, particularly Sunset.
Advice for Adult Learners in Surfing
Ian emphasizes the importance of having a good level of swimming ability before learning to surf.
Ian advises adult learners to be aware of their abilities and not to surf in conditions beyond their skill level.
Ian shares a personal experience of having to swim in after breaking their leash in challenging conditions.
Surfers Ian Admires
Ian admires surfers like John, Medina, Dane Reynolds, and several other top performers for their incredible maneuvers and wave negotiation skills.
Ian respects the older generation of surfers for their experience and ability to read the ocean, citing examples like Peter Cole and Kelly Slater.
Ian highlights the rise in the level of women's surfing and the surge of young talent in the sport.
Ian's Current Favorite Surfboard
Ian's current favorite surfboard is a 5'7" 20 with a stabilizer that they made themselves.
Ian has been experimenting with different boards and fins, including single fins, and has been inspired by other shapers like Greg Weber.
Ian enjoys riding old boards collected by Daniel Davey, son of Bob Davey, and appreciates the craftsmanship of local shapers.
Ian's Best and Worst Surfing Advice
Ian's best surfing advice is to surf within one's ability and not to step out of their comfort zone unless they are comfortable with the conditions.
Ian's worst surfing advice was being talked into surfing in dangerous conditions, which led to severe consequences and a negative experience.
Ian advises against surfing alone, emphasizing the importance of having a partner for safety.
Transcription
Michael Frampton
Welcome back to the Surf Mastery Podcast, the first episode for 2024. Just finished the summer holidays here in New Zealand. Been surfing almost every day with the kids, which has been a blessing. I actually recorded this episode with Iain Buchanan, the eternal grom, just before the school holidays. So I got a nice little hit of inspiration. Iain was born in the '60s and started surfing in the early '70s. And still... out there chasing waves, surfing multiple times a day. Even though he's been so deeply involved with surfing for so long, he's still just got this fascination with surfing. You may already know who Iain “Ratso” Buchanan is—his most famous role internationally, at least within surfing, is he's been a long-time judge for the WSL. In New Zealand during the '80s, he was five times national champ. He shapes surfboards here in New Zealand. He owns a surf shop here in New Zealand. He used to be the New Zealand national team coach. He was on the world tour as a competitor when he was younger. In 2011 he was crowned the Grand Master World Champ. The list goes on, but without further ado... I give you my conversation with Iain “Ratso” Buchanan.
Michael Frampton
I don't think there's anything that you haven't done in the surfing industry. You've been a high-level competitor, both young and old. Like you've coached at a high level, you shape, you've got a surf shop, you're judging. It's like, I don't think there's anything—there's nothing more left for you to do, man. Where does all this passion for surfing come from?
Iain Buchanan
I just knew at an early age, you know, that's all I wanted to do. I grew up in Christchurch and I... you know, it's pretty cold there in the winter and that, and I got to the point I was like, I left high school pretty early, like 15, and I passed my school certificate but I didn't hang around for university. I just couldn't fathom studying more and stuff like that. I just wanted to go surfing. I left and went to Australia. I'd just turned 16, yeah, so... I just always had the passion. I wanted to travel and go and surf the waves I was seeing in the magazines and stuff like that, and yeah, and I was interested in boards and stuff. When I was over in Australia, it was like, I was in '77 I went, you know. It was quite high unemployment there, and my sister was living over there—my older sister and her husband—they'd moved down to a place called Port Lincoln in South Australia. And they do the tuna fishing from there. And I just couldn't get any work, you know. And I was like, so I just wrote all these surfboard businesses in Australia, like on Gold Coast and Sydney and... I don't know where I’m going with that. And I got offered a job at Genius Surfboards in Cronulla. So that's how I got into that side of it. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. So you started surfing in Christchurch in the '70s. What was wetsuit technology like back then?
Iain Buchanan
For a grommet, it was fucking zero. And I was, you know, you'd buy, like say, an extra small, you know, that might hopefully fit you. Yeah. But it was always long johns with a vest underneath, you know? Yeah. And me and my friends, a couple friends, we used to go to like a dive shop and you could buy sheets or like a square sheet of rubber and we made our own booties and gloves. That's true. Yeah, and it was with dust glue. I can stitch them up because it was so cold, but no one made a wetsuit for teenagers or kids, you know? Yeah. And we used to wear—even before that—we used to wear rugby jerseys and pretend we were warm, you know? It's like, I mean, we'd surf through winter and it's amazing none of us got hypothermia really, you know.
Michael Frampton
Wow. Now everyone's jumping in ice baths and sort of recreating that.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, we used to go to Kaikōura in school holidays and places like that and just camp on the point in a tent for a couple of weeks at Mangamaunu and that's it. It was a good time.
Michael Frampton
Wow. Yeah. The barrier to entry for surfing back then was you had to want it, right? If you wanted to surf, you had to put up with some of those things.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah. I had a friend that I grew up across the road from me. Originally, my parents lived just inland from the beach, place of St Albans, now Māori Hill, and we actually made trailers on the back of our bikes we could put boards on to bike to the beach, you know. And we used to ride to Brighton. We used to ride to Sumner as well. So it was a fair hike, you know, for a 12-year-old grommet or whatever, a 10-year-old grommet.
Michael Frampton
And then we were texting last week and you're still out there chasing swell, and so do you surf every day?
Iain Buchanan
Pretty much. I'm still a grommet at heart, I'd say, and my friends sort of, you know, they hassle me about that.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. How would you describe your current relationship with surfing and the oceans?
Iain Buchanan
I mean, if there's waves, I'll surf as much as I can. We've had a couple of swells recently on the East Coast. I surfed three times a day, like three days in a row, you know. So, yeah, I'm pretty much a grommet, you know. I'm the biggest grommet at Piha and, yeah. I don't care if it's shitty or onshore or whatever, I just go out, you know?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Has there been periods in your life where you haven't surfed much by injury or work or anything like that?
Iain Buchanan
That's a good question. Yes. I've been very lucky with injuries, touch wood. Most of my career I haven't had anything major at all. But yeah, I got locked into business quite a bit in Auckland, and I came back from Australia permanently sort of 1990. The guy who I teamed up with—we had the Hot Buttered agency, right? I used to work for Territory Bureau in Sydney for 12 years. And so we'd moved shop to Newmarket, which is like the prime area of retail in Auckland City, and we were probably the first kind of big-scale surf shop and it really took off, you know. We had off-street parking, which was a big factor there because it's such a hassle for parking and stuff. We actually put the surfboard factory underneath the shop, you know, so we had two levels and yeah, it was cranking. Basically, I was sort of sales repping the clothing we were doing, and we were bringing other stuff in. We were doing Burford blanks and other brands from overseas. So yeah, I was working 60–70 hours a week. Maybe surfing on Sunday if I was lucky. So yeah, that was one time I was not surfing as much as I'd like to, yeah.
Michael Frampton
So what do you attribute your surfing longevity to?
Iain Buchanan
I've always kind of like... when I was there, and I—because I'd been on the tour—and I got married at 33, and then I worked solidly doing that for like 10 years almost. And then I got invited to go to the Masters a couple of times, and then I didn't go. And then I finally went and I had a little spark in me again, you know, and it’s like, wow, it felt like I was like... it was going to be marriage, kids, the picket fence, and that’s your life. And it's like, I was just like, shit, I'm too young for it, you know. I felt like there's more to life, you know. Yeah, so my marriage kind of finished and I bailed and went to Europe and... I just followed my heart and that's what I wanted to do, you know, so yeah. And I had made a lot of connections in Australia, and that's helped me a lot in my life with overseas stuff and, yeah, in board making and judging circles and stuff like that. So yeah, I just... that's all I want to do is be involved in surfing, yeah.
Michael Frampton
So is it literally as simple as just the froth for chasing swells and just seeking that next surf and surfing itself? Is it that simple? Is that what keeps you going?
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, I mean, I wake up every day pretty much like most surfers, and I just watch the surf lights. So, yeah, I’m in a lucky position that... well, because of my overseas work, I have a little surf shop at Piha, so I've got quite a lot of freedom, you know. And we have a house we rent out as well. I can do that, you know, and my partner’s very... she’s very accommodating. She knows what she’s signed up for going out with me. You know, it’s... yeah. She's from Wamberal. So she’s been brought up with the whole surfing culture too. So yeah, she loves traveling. So if there’s any waves, I'm going.
Michael Frampton
And then throughout your surfing journey, have you ever... have you ever hit sort of plateaus in your progression? And is there anything that you’ve learned? Have you had surf coaching done before? Like how did you get so good at surfing?
Iain Buchanan
I think the biggest—not a single—most important reason was I went to Australia. For sure, you know. And I didn’t realise—I was okay as a little junior in Christchurch—but no, and then I went to Australia and when I went to Cronulla, it was like another whole world opened up. In South Australia, it was like we were... Port Lincoln’s like... it's quite out there, and it was like we used to surf at places like Streaky Bay and this place—the right-hander at Cape Fowler, not Cape Fowler, I can’t remember, there's a bay near Port Lincoln—it’s right-handed, but, and Cactus and places like that, but it’s like basically in the desert, you know. And it was super sharky, you know, and I think pretty crazy back in those days at 16. I’d never go back there and do that again, but we did it. But when I went to Cronulla, that was just dog-eat-dog and the level was so high, you know, and that’s where I progressed quickly, you know. Hard to get a wave. You know, it was... and being one of the only kind of Kiwis there too, so I used to cop all the shit from those Australian guys. And you just learn to be tougher and more hungry kind of thing and get the mongrel in you. And I... my level rose a lot, yeah, and I didn’t really realise it until I came back to New Zealand and they started the... like a national circuit—I think it was like 1980—and I came back and I started winning contests and I didn’t realise I was that good, you know, and I thought, shit, I'm okay, you know. And then, you know, then the thruster happened—it was ’81—so things changed like that too. But yeah, like the New Zealand circuit, that’s where I first realised I had... you know. And then Gerry Fitzgerald, he saw me at one event—he came over to New Zealand—and he offered me a deal. That included like shaping for him, like so to have a job as well. So that was very cool. Yeah. It was a big part of my life, for sure.
Michael Frampton
So if there's any young New Zealand surfers that want to take their surfing to the next level, would that be your advice? To travel, go to Australia?
Iain Buchanan
Definitely go to Australia. And I’ve been telling just about all the young kids I’ve been talking to here—you’ve got to do that. I mean, everyone that has made it in New Zealand, like Maz and... Randy Mason and his sister Sarah and Paige and, you know, as well as Jay, you know, Bobby and yeah, anyone who’s any good, and Ricardo Christie of course, but you’ve got to go. You can’t win in Australia or beat your Australians... like you’re not going to make it on the world tour. It's, you know, that’s the real... I mean, we’re lucky we have got Australia there to have those opportunities. And I don’t think a lot of people realise how major it was. Like Maz won the overall Australian title—you know, the best junior—and Arini did that twice, to beat all the Australians in Australia. It was super hard, you know? Yeah. And Kahu's done that too. That’s the best thing for sure: go to Australia.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah. You know, I remember when I grew up surfing in New Zealand and then I didn’t get to Australia till I was in my 30s, and I ended up on the Northern Beaches. And was just blown away by not only the level of surfing and the rawness and mongrel-ness, as you said, of the surfers themselves, but just the quality and consistency of waves. You know, just surfing good waves almost every day. And there's no continental shelf. You know, New Zealand has such a big continental shelf, so the swell almost gets sort of dissipated. Even when the swell is big here in New Zealand, it sort of comes in with so much less energy than it does in Australia. So I just saw my surfing level increase so much just by living in Australia for a while. Yeah. So I can second that. Yeah.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah. I mean, most of the kids in Australia, everyone’s lived around the coast, especially the East Coast, so they have quite an easy access to the beach at an early age. They can just ride their bike after school or whatever, where a lot of places in New Zealand, they don’t have that as much access. And the areas where they do, traditionally the best surfers do come from New Zealand, like your Gisborne or your Raglan or your New Plymouth or some parts of Auckland or whatever, Northland. But yeah, because they can easily get to the beach quite easily on their own, you know, on the bike or whatever. But yeah. I mean, I remember at Canberra, even the average guy, some of the thugs at the pub, you know, the local drunks—you’d see them out in the surf one day. They could usually surf pretty good too, you know. So it’s, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was good fun there. Australia was really good.
Michael Frampton
And what about—so you’ve obviously traveled with the WSL and ASP as a judge, and you’ve been around, you know, the best surfers in the world. What has that experience taught you about surfing, and how has it affected your own approach to surfing?
Iain Buchanan
It’s amazing to be involved with all that. And it’s like, what you see is the level just raises all the time, like every year. And so it’s like, yeah, it’s pretty surreal to see what’s possible, you know, and see it live. And I think from New Zealand—going even now—like, people don’t realize how fast these surfers surf on a wave. They actually go a lot faster than what you see the average. I mean, the quality of the waves we have in New Zealand, there should be more better surfers, really, you know. And that’s quite a weird thing. I think it’s mainly the population, I guess. But you see, yeah, and I think it’s just the same thing—like seeing that, being around all these guys at that level—yeah, I just try and push myself as much as possible too, you know. And surfing a lot of different waves too is a factor, and that helps your surfing and learning how to surf those different waves and reading waves and what different things—reefs or deep sea waves like at Sunset and places like that—stuff you don’t usually get to surf. So yeah, that’s... it’s a learning curve the whole time, you know. And we stay at a house at Sunset every year. They put us in this house, and it’s right in front. It’s like where we actually judge from this contest. And so we pretty much surf that most of the time. And that’s—you know, you get the biggest wave of your whole year pretty much every year. And you’ll get the biggest beating of the whole year, you know? So it’s a humbling experience, but it’s pretty fun, you know. So you step out of your comfort zone, and so you’ve got to crack out seven-footers and eight-footers—waves you don’t usually ride, you know—so that’s a learning curve, big time.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. It is interesting how you don’t—look, obviously there’s been a handful of surfers that have made the highest level of surfing from New Zealand—but it’s not really happening for us. Whereas the Aussies are dominating, right? And then the Americans, they travel to Hawaii and they have those experiences there, and they’re up there. Why do you think that is? Because New Zealand—look at rugby. We’re dominant at rugby. We’re right up there with lots of other team sports. We seem to be able to compete internationally. But surfing... why do you think that is?
Iain Buchanan
I think initially, if you want to go the competition route, it’s like—you need money, you need sponsorship. So that’s a hard thing. And traditionally, the Australian—you know, all the companies are Australian-owned, not so much these days. But so, yeah, I mean, it’s like basically you need to have a good sponsorship to be able to do that. There’s been periods—like the best generation, I think, was when there was Maz and Daniel Kereopa and, yeah, there’s Blair Stewart and, you know, Chrissy Malone and, you know, and then Bobby Hansen and Jay Quinn came up. You know, like that sort of era was one of the best growth groups through the juniors right through to the Open. Like Maz and Kereopa were winning QSs overseas, which is pretty unbelievable really. And Paige too—she won Margaret River, you know. On the steps, every time you walk up the steps, there’s her name, you know. So it’s like, yeah, it’s the same. The Aussies had dominance for quite a while. But then it swings. And the Brazilian thing has been happening. You know, they’ve had the last four world champions. So things go in swings, you know. And the Brazilians for many years were showing the potential, and once their generation came through with the Medinas and all that, you know—that’s the same with Tom Curren and, you know, so yeah. There hasn’t been an American... yeah, apart from what’s happening now, for quite a while either, really.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, that’s true. Yeah. Maybe we’ll get our turn soon.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah. But I mean, Ricardo Christie—he made podium, and what was it? Haleiwa? Sunset? Yeah, he’s pretty good. Yeah, Sunset. Yeah, so that’s—you know, he’s made the podium the last eight years. Pretty epic, you know. So I think he’s the first guy since... Fancey, no? Back in the day. Yeah. But it takes time on those sort of waves too, you know. You just can’t rock up. There’s very few guys who just rock up and dominate, you know, like that. Maybe Occy or Tom Carroll or someone like that at Pipe. But they’re the freaks, you know. I mean, Dino—you’ve got to really want it, like you said at the beginning. Some of those kids that you get over in those sort of places—I mean, Jason Matthews from New Plymouth, he was really good. Yeah, he was good in the hotel, yeah. Yeah, so it’s like those sort of things, you know. If you’re used to sort of surfing more powerful waves, you know, no problem with size. Kereopa’s good at that. And there’s a few other guys too in the country who are pretty good at it. So hats off to them, you know.
Michael Frampton
All those names you just listed in New Zealand surfing just reminds me of the Coastal Disturbance series. Videos.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, Blair Stewart was the... he was just—what he used to do in Hawaii and stuff—it was crazy, you know. Like, he had big respect from a lot of people. Yeah. Sam Willis. Sam Willis is another good one. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
What’s been your most intense surfing experience, and where was it?
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, probably Sunset for sure, I’d say, as far as getting beatings. I had my vest tied to my board shorts, right, you know—I had to have it. Yeah. And it was only about three years ago, and I made the drop on this wave, but the lip kind of landed behind me on the back of the board, and I got sort of pretty much drilled, you know. And I got pushed right down, and my vest went up and over my head. And I’m under the water trying to get it back over my head, and it’s just like—I’m down, you know, deep, and I’m trying to get up, and it lasted a while, you know, and I was kind of starting to freak a bit. And I ended up having to climb up my leg rope to get to the surface. Pretty freaky. And then the next one hit me. So that was something I’ll never forget, yeah. Yeah. I’ve had—as far as, you know, like good, yeah, memorable waves—I like Tahiti. I’ve been going there for a long time. And a little bit Indo and J-Bay. Pretty epic. Yeah, I love J-Bay. And I’ve had good memories of Tahiti for a long time going there. And I love Hawaii too, mostly Sunset, because that’s where we hang. And yeah.
Michael Frampton
So what about in terms of the surf culture—like, let me ask you, if I was to start—if I was an adult learner and I wanted to get into surfing... obviously, it’s really easy nowadays. You get a reasonably cheap wetsuit—wetsuits are so good now—even a cheap one’s going to fit well and keep you warm. You get a cheap soft top, and you just get a lesson from the local surf school, and next thing you know you think you’re a surfer. But that seems to, I think—that easy entry into surfing leaves a lot of things off the table. And there’s a lot of, sort of—I guess those adult learners can be looked down upon by more experienced surfers. What do you think is missing from that education? And if there’s anything that you wanted to say to these new surfers, what would it be?
Iain Buchanan
Have a reasonably good level of swimming—ability to swim. And that’s something my father taught. He was always a good swimmer, and when he realised the surfing thing was just not a phase and that it was my thing, he said, “Right.” He made me come to a swimming pool. He made me learn to swim a mile before he let me keep doing it all the time, which is pretty... yeah. To be able to swim and have that ability—I think it’s super important. And like you say, people like that can get in a situation pretty quickly where they’re just out of their depth, you know. And it’s funny when you see people—well, not funny—but it’s ironic. You see people in those situations, and a lot of people—they get off their board for some reason, you know, and they don’t realise it’s a flotation device that can help, you know. So yeah, I think be aware of their ability too. You know, like, I mean, surfing’s—you’re dealing with the ocean. It’s like nowhere the same. It’s one of the only sports like that, where you’re dealing with Mother Nature. Because you can go, like, snowboarding, say—pretty much anyone can sort of reasonably do it in a day. You know? Be able to go down a mountain, you know? Like, you can turn and have an okay day and enjoy yourself. But surfing, you can try, you know, for six months or a year, and you can still be nowhere near what you think you would be like, you know. So I’ve got my little surf shop at Piha—Lion Rock Surf Shop—and I do a lot of rentals. And a lot of times, people come in and I just go, I won’t rent because the conditions are too bad, you know. And they’ll insist on it, and I’ll go, “Look, go down. You look to the beach. Go and look at the beach,” you know. “Go and check it out. It’s like way bigger and nastier than you think.” You know? “Yeah. And there’s a reason why there’s no one out,” you know.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. No, if you can’t swim the conditions, you shouldn’t be out there trying to surf the conditions.
Iain Buchanan
No.
Michael Frampton
No. I remember I was out surfing Germans on the Northern Beaches, and it was close to triple overhead. And it’s quite far out from the shore, and I broke my leash. And I had to swim in. And, you know, in a four-metre swell, and it’s a good, you know, almost half a k out to sea. And if my swimming fitness hadn’t been up to scratch, then, you know, I might have been in a hell of a lot of trouble. So I, you know—luckily I was super fit and I could swim, and I’d been training for that winter a lot. So it’s—surfing is—and you know, it can be small and there can be a nasty little rip or an undertow that can really challenge your fitness levels.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, that is exactly right. That actually happened last week with me. I’m at Whangamatā at the moment, and it was like that. It was like a nice little right-hand rip bowl, and there was a couple of us out, and there’s a guy on a stand-up paddle, and he’s a good surfer—I know him very well—and he’s a little bit older than that. And he lost his stand-up paddle, you know, and it got in. But the rip was so strong, he’s swimming in and he’s got the paddle, you know, and I look around—he was getting nowhere at all, you know. So I paddled into the beach and got his board and brought it back out for him, because he—yeah, the rip was just strong enough that, you know, anyone was struggling, you know. And it wasn’t even three foot, you know?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, the ocean is a humbling place for sure. Yeah. As a surfer, who inspires you the most? Who do you look up to?
Iain Buchanan
I like—well, where we are, there’s definitely a hierarchy, and some of the guys, the elder guys—and it’s pretty cool when a proper set on a swell comes through, they’re the guys who get the waves. I think that’s—so I look up to that sort of thing. As far as performance goes, like—it’s pretty unbelievable what people like John and Medina and several other guys can do. Dane Reynolds is another one we’ve seen live. It’s like—just how the hell did they make that maneuver or that barrel? Or just the sheer difficulty of negotiating that wave and those sections is just—yeah, it’s amazing to see. Medina—he treats any break like a beach break. He just... it doesn’t matter how big or gnarly it is or what the reef or whatever—he’s just attacking it like it’s a three-foot wave or something. It’s quite crazy to see, you know. The level of women’s surfing has been unbelievable too. Some of the young girls coming through now—there’s been a definite surge. That’s pretty good to see too, you know. The level’s really risen high, yeah. I do respect the older guys too. If you think back on the equipment—it wasn’t like how it’s changed so much. I remember the first time I ever went to Hawaii, and it was in the early ’80s, and I was out at Sunset, and it was like this big west swell was happening. And this set’s come through, and I’m like, “Shit.” And it’s like everyone’s scratching for their lives, and I’m like, “What do I do? What do I do?” And I saw this guy—Peter Cole. And he was, like, a lot older—from magazines and that. I just recognized him from the magazines. I never met the guy. And I saw, “That’s Peter Cole.” I said, “If anyone knows where to go, it’s that guy.” So I just followed his ass over these waves, and I know I got out the back because of that. So it’s... you can’t buy experience. The guys who are cool and calm in difficult conditions—and who can read the ocean too—you know, like Curren’s pretty unbelievable like that. He’s got a bit of a zen-like factor. And yeah, there’s a few guys like that, yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, no, that’s really good advice. I learned that a long time ago. If you see an older, experienced surfer sitting out there—everyone’s sitting there—and then all of a sudden you see one of the older guys jump on his board and start paddling out the back, and you’re like, “Why is he doing that?” No one else has seen a set coming in. He saw the set before everyone else. So you’re best to just take his lead and start paddling. And yeah, little things like that—because those older guys that are experienced, they don’t have the fitness level of the younger dudes, so it’s experience and the way they read the ocean—that’s what sets them apart. And that’s something Tom Carroll taught me a long time ago. It was like, your ability to finely read the ocean is what separates the great surfers from just the good ones.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, and of course I shouldn't forget Atlas—Slater, of course. He's like—no, he's... yeah, he's the king of all that stuff. But I'll never forget, I was judging the Volcom event at Pipe a few years ago or so, and it was Jamie O'Brien. And at one point, it's like the last minute counting down, and he was going against John, and he paddled up to John and shook his hand, you know. And it's like 30 seconds counting down, and I think even Jamie had priority too. John John just like turned around—he saw this wave from Gums, which is like off the reef there—and he paddled over, and it's the last 10 seconds counting. He managed to swing and catch it. And Jamie just couldn’t get to it. And he got like a 9.8 on that wave. He read the wave—yeah, he read the ocean. So that knowledge and ability to read stuff, yeah, for sure.
Michael Frampton
Do you sometimes surprise yourself with your ability and instinct to read the ocean?
Iain Buchanan
I watch that a lot, you know, like I'll just see how I am. Like guys down here, you know, for our fingers to groms. And yeah, I... like for example, last Sunday night I was waiting—I could see the tide was going out. I knew Whangapoua could have been okay, you know, but it was like—it got to, it was like 20 past eight, I think. It was only half an hour till dark. And then I noticed there’s like three people outside, so I just went out. And it was three grommets on foamies just having fun. The tide went out enough that the last half hour was pretty bloody good actually. Yeah. And, you know, good three foot and just peeling and just—my God, heaps of waves, you know. So... yeah, just—I know living at Piha, reading the West Coast is very changeable too. And being up on the hill, you can see the banks—different up at North Piha compared to South Piha. And yeah, certain times the tide’s low enough or high enough, it’s going to turn on. And I’ve had many surfs at Piha like that just by watching, you know. Watching a lot. And it turns on all of a sudden and it’s just like—could be a Sunday night at 7:30, you know—everyone’s having dinner and drinking a few beers. It’s like, shit, it’s on. Just go out and be with a couple of mates.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, surfing’s like that. It’s when the stars align and the tide and the bars and the swell and the wind all line up. You’ve got to take those opportunities.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Sure. What’s currently your favorite surfboard?
Iain Buchanan
I’ve been riding a 5'7" twinny with a stabiliser that I made myself. I’ve made a couple, and I didn’t used to ride twinnies at all. I was always a single fin man when I was—before the thruster. And when the twinnies came out I kind of liked the slidey feel of them, you know. But I had a go on a friend’s board in Nicaragua because my boards got left in L.A. And I borrowed a board—and even a four fin too—it went pretty good, way better than I thought actually, yeah. And then he let me have a go on a twinny with a stabiliser, and yeah, it changed the way I thought, you know. And I made a couple of single fins too for myself recently, or last couple of years, and been riding those a bit as well. I’ve been probably experimenting more than I ever have in my life in the last three or four years. And looking back at other shapers too. Like I used to work at G&S with Greg Webber, and then he went to Hot Buttered, and I did too. That was quite interesting being at the same place. I’m good friends with Greg, and he’s always been very into pushing the boundaries and stuff. And yeah, I like a lot of the stuff he does. And checking fins too—I’ve been getting into, especially single fins. The fins make a huge difference. I’ve been experimenting a lot with that. And I surf a lot with Daniel Davey—Bob Davey’s son. Yeah. And he’s constantly collecting old boards of Bob’s over the years, and he’s just got boards coming out of the house—his wife’s not happy—but he’s buying something every week, it’s crazy. But he’s got some unbelievable boards. And yeah, so I ride some of those sometimes just for fun, yeah. But my current one is my 5'7" twinny with a stabiliser, and using different fins. I’ve been riding it in bigger surf too. And I’ve got shitloads of boards I’ve been making, so I’ve got a different kind of range of pins too, you know, like step-ups and stuff made from different materials too. A friend of mine works in the California surf industry and he’s given me some different cloth and stuff like that to try. It’s amazing. Yeah. That’s good. I’m not really into—I haven’t been really into—the epoxies, you know. Like a lot of guys ride epoxies, and yeah. It never ceases to amaze me—especially when I go back to Piha in a big, chunky surf—and guys are still trying to ride their six-foot epoxy boards. And it’s like, you know, six foot plus and thick waves, and it’s like big waves—you’re on bigger boards, it’s a no-brainer. And they wonder why they’re struggling, you know. Yeah. Know what you’re riding, for a start—you know, like construction and that sort of stuff, you know.
Michael Frampton
So it sounds like experimenting with different boards has been something that’s helped keep you inspired and keeping things fresh.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, I love making boards. I had a period—well, still quite a lot—because I’ve been travelling so much. I don’t shape as much as I would like to, but I still have the passion for shaping, for sure. I love it. And I think Daniel’s father’s place has been rented out. I think they’re moving out this month. He’s still got the old factory up there. So yeah, we’re going to clean that out and be able to make boards up there again. Pretty exciting to look forward to, and my friends, and just making them for my shop, yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah. Are you making boards commercially or just for yourself or a bit of both?
Iain Buchanan
Just me. So yeah, I’ve got a bit of interest here, so it’s good, yeah. And working with another guy here—Mark O’Connor—he does Mojo Handshapes here in Whanga, and he makes all his boards from start to finish and good gloss coats and finishing like that, like the old style kind of thing. It’s good quality boards, you know. And he makes all kinds and specializes in mals and that too, so that’s, you know, that old sort of quality of how boards are made too—it’s the craftsmanship. You know, good to work around, you know. I’ve worked with a lot of people overseas and, you know, it’s a big respect. But I have glasses—unbelievable, you know. I don’t really like glassing that much. I don’t sand or anything. But the guys who are really good sanders—they make or break a board too. So it’s, yeah, big respect for those people, you know. Yeah. I mean, yeah, we’ve got guys—I don’t know—guys at Piha, they’ll go and spend $1,000 or $1,200 on an import from overseas. But then they wouldn’t—you know—they wouldn’t put that money towards a local guy, you know? Like there’s a few good guys that make boards in Auckland, and that’s what they’re competing with. All these imports that all the commercial shops are bringing in by the containers, or else they buy them shipped from Australia or whatever, you know. And that sort of thing. There’s still some very good manufacturers in New Zealand, you know. Pete Anderson here. Wayne Parks is still going up at Waipu Cove. It’s like—quality unsurpassed really. His level is incredible. And he’s brought through a whole lot of young shapers. Well, you know. Well, best quality.
Michael Frampton
Well, this board just behind me here—that’s a Jordan Griffin fish. Yeah, great board. You know, I was in the States riding a Christensen fish, and this Jordan Griffin fish surfs just as well. And it’s probably better made actually. It’s probably—the quality of the glassing on that board’s going to last forever. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah, it’s a shame. It’s a shame people fall victim to marketing, I think.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, exactly.
Michael Frampton
No, you can’t beat the type of board that you get from a local shaper that’s been glassed locally. It’s going to probably cost you a little bit less, and it’s probably going to last you a lot longer too than something that’s been popped out and shipped over here. Yeah. I’ll ask you one more question before we leave you.
Iain Buchanan
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Support your local shaper. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
What’s the best surfing advice you’ve ever got, and what’s the worst surfing advice you’ve ever got?
Iain Buchanan
You’ve just got to surf to your ability. Like, I mean, if it’s not—like when you go somewhere like Hawaii or whatever—it’s like, you shouldn’t be forced to go out in what you’re not comfortable with, you know. Because it’s a time thing—like getting used to it and progressing and being comfortable with that. So don’t step too far out of your comfort zone. I think that’s fair enough. The worst advice was—I have been dragged out in stuff that’s like, “Whoa, this is pretty major,” and been severely hammered and stuff like that. Or like, I’ve been out in conditions before when it’s like—it was very marginal and it did get quite dangerous, you know. So yeah, it’s like being talked into stuff when you think, “Nah, it’s not worth the risk,” you know? Yeah. Next thing is, “Shit, we’re in trouble,” you know?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. You’ve got to trust your instincts. I think, yeah, you’re right. It’s because if you let someone convince you to go out when it is a bit above your pay grade and you have a bad experience, that can be... that can hold you back for quite some time. It can put you off surfing. It can—you know, you’re risking your life in them.
Iain Buchanan
I had a bad experience with a guy, and it got worse and bigger and more. I go, “Shit, it’s pretty onshore, it’s pretty solid, and it’s not that great.” We checked it about two hours before, and it got worse. And we were struggling to get out, and he just got out. And it was like—the end of the beach was up here, and it went around these rocks to the next beach. And I’m like—I was just by the rocks—I was going, “Nah,” and just came in, you know, like I was going to get sucked around the rocks. And I got on the beach and I had to walk up the sand hill to see where he was and put my board up again. And he’s gone. And when he finally got in, he’s like, “I wish I didn’t go out.” I was going, “Yeah.” Yeah. Another one is—don’t surf by yourself. Because anything can happen. And the same guy, actually—he did this a week ago—and he got hit in the head with his board and got 10 stitches. And he had to swim in because he lost his board. Yeah. So, you know, and that was late too—it was like 8:30 at night. So it was—yeah, things can happen. No matter how good you are. You know, surfing by yourself—you know, out of your control. So not a good idea, I reckon, at any size. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
No, I totally agree with that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it’s pretty hard to surf by yourself nowadays with the crowds. It is possible, though, but yeah—it’s not worth the risk. I’m sure you’re right. Well, Iain, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Iain Buchanan
Okay, thanks, Mike. It was good to talk to.
Michael Frampton
Alright, thanks mate. See ya.
94 Iain "Ratso" Buchanan - The Eternal Grom
For the passionate surfer—whether you're a weekend warrior, a surf dad, or an older surfer—this podcast is all about better surfing and deeper stoke. With expert surf coaching, surf training, and surfing tips, we’ll help you catch more waves, refine your paddling technique, and perfect your pop up on a surfboard. From surf workouts to handling wipeouts, chasing bigger waves, and mastering surf technique, we’re here to make sure you not only improve but truly enjoy surfing more—so you can get more out of every session and become a wiser surfer. Go from Beginner or intermediate Surfer to advanced.