CJ Nelson - Oracle Glider - Volan

In 2016, Thomas Campbell loaned CJ his Skip Frye Eagle to help him get through the Santa Cruz summer. At that point CJ's glider experience was almost none, with the exception of riding his fathers 10'3" Phil Edwards Waikiki.

The speed and glide CJ got on the Eagle changed his outlook on what longboards in general should feel like. The long swoops and simplistic flow had him hooked, but he always thought they could operate more like a traditional log. Could they noseride, pivot, and slash, turning a novelty board into a daily driver?

Designing this glider project has been a long time coming. We turned a point-and-shoot glider into a well rounded performance longboard. For years, CJ has been dabbling in glider surfing, having the top glider shapers from around the world build him boards. The thing that bothers him that mostly all gliders have in common is that they are very temperamental and hard to ride. Easy to catch waves on, for sure, but hard to navigate once you're up. We wanted to break this chain and build a glider that catches waves with ease, but performs like no other. The Oracle has a generous rocker to eliminate hangups, a performance rail, more tail flip for nose work, and a light, manageable glass job to accentuate performance. If you want to surf well into your 80s, better start mastering a glider. A must have for everyone.

Thanks to Skip Frye, Dane Purlee, Thomas Campbell and Josh Hall for all the years of glider tutelage.

Concept designed by: CJ X Ryan Engle

Dimensions: 10'6 x 24" x 3.38" (91L)