Wade has been shaping in Hawaii for the last 22 years. He has always made boards to suit his surroundings and, due to his proximity to the legendary north shore, he is regarded as 'THE MAN' when it comes to making big wave surfboards. He regularly makes boards for many of the top 44 WCT surfers. Riders such as Jamie O'Brien, Bruce Irons, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Occy, Manoa Drollet, Sunny Garcia and Taj Burrows, to name just a few, all favour his boards.

During his extensive career, Wade has worked mainly with polyurethane. However, for some time he has been investigating alternative manufacturing processes, including moulded boards, PVC sandwich and parabolic rails. After testing a variety of products, he decided in September 2007, that he wanted to join forces with Resin8. Here's what Wade had to say when he was asked some questions about his forthcoming venture with Resin8:

After shaping in the traditional way for so long, what has made you decide to branch out into the epoxy market?
'We have been using traditional materials for the last 22 years and have been happy with the results and performance. We have been making a few EPS boards with epoxy resin shaped the traditional way and we have been getting great feed back also. I have been doing research and testing of epoxy moulded boards and more exotic methods of building boards.

Why have you chosen to work with Resin8?
The reasons are quite simple. The result of the testing and research the past few years is that the best board quality and performance would be the Resin8 boards. We were happy with the performance of the boards and excited to be involved in the project.

How many shapes and what sizes are you going to be providing for their range?
'Currently we will start with one short board design and we will add 4 more to the line. I am not rushing to get the designs in but I want to submit really good proven designs and sometimes that may take time'.

When will you be starting work on the boards and when do you expect them to be with Resin8?
'We are currently working on the first design and will wait for the prototype and then expand on the line with a range of boards for different waves'.

Will the shapes you provide to Resin8 differ from those in your traditional range? If they are different, why and how?
'The boards I will shape for Resin8 will be similar to what I do with the traditional PU boards but they may come down in volume, being that the boards have more floatation with the EPS core'.

What waves in the world do you see the new Tokoro Resin8s being ridden?
'The feed back we got has been good in small waves so for sure in small waves around the world. The bigger waves I would want more feedback but my good friend Sage Hulls from Hawaii has been giving great feed back in all waves'.

Who will you be giving the Tokoro Resin8s to for testing?
'We would want people of all levels to be testing the boards and I would want to let some of the top pros give it a go too'.

Apparently you have tried surfing a Resin8, what did you think of it and how did it compare to other products that you have tried?
'The first time I tried a Resin8 was at Pipeline and rode a few waves. It was not very big and the board felt good but I needed more time with it. The second time I used it at Ala Moana Bowls and the waves were good for testing with nice walls. I was very impressed with the way the board rode and the flex felt really good. As I mentioned before that Resin8 is the best board I have ridden with similar construction'.

Ruarri Spurgeon of Resin8 said “nothing can eclipse my present excitement about our relationship with Wade Tokoro and the prospect of building Tokoro Resin8 surfboards. WT epitomises and personifies high performance real wave surfing. With Resin8's mission being to provide the ultimate surfing experience in all types of waves, we feel very positive about co-operating with one of the most highly regarded shapers on the planet.

In the last twelve months Resin8 surfboards have had tremendous success in the fast clean waves found in places like Indo and Hawaii. The R8's flex characteristics provide particular value in these types of waves and one of Tokoro's fortes is designing shapes for these conditions. Equally exciting is developing and testing this new product with the high class surfers with whom Wade is already associated.