Our story
Mark Thomson
The Krypt design team is headed up by Hydrodynamic Architect and Master Craftsman Mark Thomson.
Schooled in the art by masters like Bob McTavish Michael Cundith and George Greenough Mark has a keen eye for innovation and an ability for creating and developing original ideas and designs.
Having the ultimate proving grounds of Lennox Head to extract the maximum performance from any design as a Hydrodynamic Architect Mark has carved out the future as a respected and accomplished international designer.
I started shaping and my board making career in 1979 building my own boards under the brand HOT & GLASSY from a little farm on the beach deep in the rainforest at Broken Head.
One day I was showing my friend Bob McTavish a dual single finned laser zap design and Bob offered to teach me production shaping from his factory in the old cow bails on the hill at Lennox Head which had an immediate impact on my shaping and HOT and GLASSY started to grow.
This was one of the most incredible times of my life.
Living in the rainforest creating beautiful equipment to surf the long perfect barrelling waves of the far north coast.
It was a dream come true living heaven on earth with my beautiful wife Janet and my new born son Daniel.
Just surfing, fishing, growing our own vegies and scratching out an existence carved in foam.
In mid 1980s I met my neighbour George Greenough who lived up the road from me and I started work for George as a camera assistant shooting large budget feature films and television commercials.
This was the start of a new career in cinematography.
I graduated from the Australian Film and Television School with degrees in Directing Documentary, Radio and Television and Production Management
While never far from the shaping room I pursued a career as a point of view action sports cameraman.
I was lucky to work with all the big name surf companies and film some of the best surfers in the world. Inevitably we would start talking surfboard design and end up in the shaping room creating the best boards imaginable.
I have been a contributing photographer to over 30 surf films in the last 20 years
I was fortunate to work on some incredible jobs like Skyrider Simulation Systems.
Using my mutli discipline skills to work as a Point of View Director of Photography and using my composite knowledge to help build and create interactive simulators.
With 6 axis of movement we could recreate most experiences and most forms of transport known to mankind.
It was during this time I developed many of my design talents building and designing all sorts of water housings for all kinds of cameras and developing the rigs that would carry them to shoot unique POV action sports adventure films.
In 1999 I created the KRYPT SURF TECHNOLOGY brand.
As a keen observer of nature, my design have always been a unique blend of sacred geometry and cutting edge technology and materials especially carbon fibre and high performance epoxy resin systems.
Fighter-Jet design theories – allows the craft to perform sharp controlled manoeuvres at high speeds. I’ve found that the best way to release the high velocity laminar flow created by the foil outline is a combination of sharp calculated angles, rather than the curves of a fish tail.
I see my self as a student of the ocean.
I have developed a unique understanding of fluid dynamics, design and material science and how these things interact with the physical nature of waves. Surfboard making is a science and an art form.
My son Daniel is a brilliant and natural talented surfer so I always had the ultimate test pilot.
Surfing performance is only limited by our imagination and walks hand in hand with surf craft design potential.
