August 11th 2026: Kelly dust

While I was on the Gold Coast last week, I managed to carve out some time from my schedule to visit an old friend of mine – one of Dunedin's born-and-bred surf characters: Scotty James. Scotty and his family left Dunedin in 2012 to chase a new life in Australia – firstly in Casuarina on the northern coast of New South Wales and then on the Gold Coast. 

He was a carpet and vinyl layer, worked hard and surfed when he could. Then, one day, he had an epiphany. What if his work used his creative side and could be something he enjoyed? Scotty James Surfboards was born. He'd dabbled with making surfboards before and had learnt enough from Carsey back in Dunedin to be bold enough to give it a go. 

I take my hat off to people who chase their dreams. It's not an easy road at all, especially in business, but ultimately it is the most rewarding. Scotty James Surfboards became SJS, which then became SJS Custom when he wanted an Instagram handle that specified the custom-built part of his business. His boards are throughout Dunedin – he even used to sponsor shredder Jack Higgins. 

Scotty's focus on Instagram married his love for making beautiful boards with the platform's ability to reach far and wide. It traces his career somewhat ... an evolution of his craft. These days the boards he makes are pieces of art, both in functional surf design and aesthetics. He has an ability to blend colourways that really makes you sit up and take notice. Then his design ethos is a refreshing glimpse into the future of surfboard design. That's the bit I think that got Kelly Slater's attention. He ordered two boards off Scotty recently – he sat down with him and went through the whole design process together – merging Scotty's vision with Kelly's own experience. 

The story is fascinating, so we put it all together on New Zealand Surf Journal – you can read that full story here. 

Thanks for sharing your story, Scotty, and for being such an inspiration to us all. May the Kelly dust never settle. 

See you at the beach, Derek

PS We are doing a special over winter where we will come and hang any of our premium framed prints (anywhere in Otago, at least) purchased over winter. You can choose from any of these framed prints in our limited edition gallery. Here's a favourite of mine that is certain to run through its edition of 10 ... only a few left.