I finished up my remaining caffeine hit, photographed the quartet of “Geminas” and then cruised over to the shaping bay where Mr Chris Garrett was, to gather a little more info on them. When asked for a lowdown on the rainbow spread he told me…

“The Gemina is a full on twinny inspired by the original designs ridden by Martin Potter in the early eighties, just tweaked to give the performance that is needed for modern carving. An easy entry rocker, a flat deck with down foiled rails and some impressive concave work makes this a handful of speed and maneuverability that just begs for more. Hand foiled glassed in twin fins with a smaller trailer fin keeps you moving in the right direction and the stoke meter  in the red zone….noice!!!”

The first finished board went to Mr, Tai Buddha Graham as a prize for taking first place in the ‘Slidetober’ surf contest. It is rumored that he is currently using it, throwing buckets whilst doing cutbacks on the east coast of Australia. Good friend Peter Jones also took delivery of a Gemina not too long ago, and it seems to be doing nothing but good things for him down at Canggu rights.

These four are available on the floor as of this morning…we have a 5’8, 5’10, 6’0 and a 6’2 ready to go to a new home, get waxed up and get wet!

The Emporium of Postmodern Activities’ inaugural house warming soiree saw close to 1000 people walk through its freshly finished doors to share in Deus Ex Machina’s latest horn of plenty. Guests fueled up on hot-off-the-grill sausages from local favorite Wurstküche and expertly pulled espresso offerings from downtown L.A.’s Handsome Roasters before knocking back the first of several thousands beers for the night. Entertainment came from several different angles with set lists from Ry Cummings, Devil’s Gravy, and Restavrant, the surprise world premier of Jimmy James’ film, “Tracking,” some goofy face time with Magnolia Photobooth Co., and a late night dance session with DJ Sidwho?. Over in the store, the cash register got its first serious workout as the neighborhood gobbled up their initial sampling of Deus gear. Helping inspire our newest fans were two-wheeled wonderworks like Jordan Hufnagel’s Porteur/City bike project and Deus’s own Mono, Silver Café 650, and the brand-new, never-before-seen American, all holding court on the sales floor. It was an epic night. There were flowers arranged in gas tanks. Most definitely a harbinger of great times ahead.

Bali Expats Jimmy James and Salsa jumped in a steel bird made the leap of faith across the pond, to meet up with Ellis Erison and bring the Bali flare to the Venice beach folks. First things first, grab boards and surf then shirts off, fringe cuts and ride custom Deus cycles around town letting all those wondering just who these wondering Aussies were, and in no way were they lost…if anything they were right at home.

Helping out as they do, getting all the final touches in order for the main event, the grand opening of Deus Ex Machina’s Stateside location. So if you’re lucky enough to see “The Hair-Force” rolling hard though your neck of the boulevard, no salute is necessary, but a friendly hoot and a cold beer, will go a long way…

On Wednesday the 22nd of February, The Deus Gallery will be hosting the opening Mantra’s latest collection of works. Entitled ‘Organic Mind,’ the exhibit is a series of paintings based around the concept that the human mind is runs on two different intellects, the ‘Acquired’ and the ‘Natural.’ An organic mind is one that is more dominant with the latter…instincts and intuitions that nature has provided.

The show opens at 7pm and will be accompanied by a plethora of live music acts and video art performances. Come down for a beer or three and have a gander at the works of art that will adorn the walls.

Since George Greenough refined the first fin based around the dorsal of a dolphin, sizes, shapes and uses have progressed…Yohan originally taught himself how to foil fins from looking at a finished product and then working backwards through the stages, he got better and better, and was a pretty solid foiler…but when Chris Garrett showed up on scene and steered him in the right directions, his skill-set jumped a few levels.

As well as hand making fins from scratch, Yohan also heads up the sanding and polish department of the surfboard factory, his latest project was the second generation finless by Chris Garrett, probably one of the hardest boards to sand down perfectly. but it came out flawless.

With the diversity of shapers and boards that pass through the bay, Yohan has hand foiled everything from Tyler Warren side bites and Bonzer keel fins, to Jai Lee log singles and Ellis Ericson 12 inch tracker flex fins. His work even holds the seal of approval from legendary fin foiler and owner of FluidFoil, Phil Way, who dropped by the Temple not too long ago, and after man handling some of Yohan’s work, couldn’t find anything to critique.

Here’s a slice of Yohan’s daily activities. It gets rather dusty in the sanding bay so be glad your behind your computer screen!

The latest episode of said show had Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds as its guest, and in his interview the topic turns to bikes…and in his collection Ryan mentions he has a a Deus…and goes on to correct the host Jeremy Clarkson as to the proper pronunciation.

Here’s the interview…our mention is around the 7 and a half minute mark, but take the time to watch the whole thing, the banter between the two is worth it!

A big thanks to all that joined in on the hazy ‘Sunset Session’ over here at ‘The Temple’…Thank god its over.