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The Dirt Surfer

In 1986, Graeme Attey, a keen surfer and sailboarder, tried to make a type of land windsurfer with wheels, but could not quite get it working properly. So this early attempt went under the bench in his shed and was forgotten until a couple of years ago — when he saw 3 adventurous teenagers sliding down the slopes of a Fremantle hillside on large blocks of ice.

Setting him thinking, Graeme dragged the land windsurfer out and tried again. Over the space of a few weeks, he chopped and changed geometry until he had a prototype that was rideable.

With its 20-inch wheels and aluminium frame, Graeme's 'dirtsurfer' is set apart from other 'all terrain' type boards which are basically scaled up skateboards with 3 or 4 wheels. The Dirtsurfer replicates the true feeling of surfing or snowboarding, but on grass, dirt or bitumen. You can fly along at 90 kilometres an hour on a smooth road, or take it easy down a gentle grass slope.

Through his company, Design Science Pty Ltd of Western Australia, Graeme has now successfully applied for a patent for the way the Dirtsurfer works, a registered design for the way it looks, and a trade mark for the name.

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