Bruce McKee has been making and developing Quad surfboards for nearly 30 years. For around 25 of those years, the quad concept was effectively stonewalled by the thruster’s dominance in the market. Call it narrow mindedness,
call it a commercial conspiracy, whatever the reasons for it’s former censorship, Bruce has worked tirelessly on the concept that he knew could not only match but out-perform the thruster.In the past few years the quad has become accepted as a valid fin system by all but the most die hard thruster fans. McKee is quick to point out that putting 4 fins on a board does not necessarily make a board that performs like an M4 Quattro. It’s taken Bruce years of trial and error to get his quad fin placement to where it is. Just look at the footage of Tom Curren surfing big J-Bay on a McKee quad way back in 1992 and you get an idea for the depth of understanding that Bruce has developed over the last 25 years. 

 

Originally from Sydney Australia, Bruce McKee has been one of Europe’s leading shaper designers since 1990 and has currently returned to his home base of Australia to re-launch many a parked project but will continue to maintain his relationships with many friends and production sources world-wide.

 Mckee’s influences on surfboard design have primarily come from his home area. Bruce was shaper for `KC´, `Daniels´, `Liquid Lips´ and `Darby´ surfboards and was surrounded by some of Australia’s best known shapers and manufacturers such as `Aloha´, `Insight´, `Energy´ and `Hot Buttered´ to name a few.

 Bruce regularly returned to his native Australia to catch up on the current Aussie designs and is also a frequent visitor to Hawaii where he likes to test out his `guns´(surfboards built for catching big waves).

 Brazil is also a favourite destination for Bruce where his sought after guns have been popular essentials to quivers of surfers  travelling to other South American destinations such as Chile and Peru.

 In Hawaii and elsewhere Bruce through the years has supplied many shapers with updates of one of his ongoing interests, an alternative surfboard fin combination, the M4 Quattro quad fin system and also the M5 Multisystem fin concept, to add variety and new life to a stagnant design pool. Bruce is a renowned `gun´ specialist and is the guy they call when the North Atlantic lows start to crank.

 Throughout his years in Europe, Bruce has shaped boards for a majority of the top pros of the WCT & WQS. He regularly shaped for Sunny Garcia and has had success with riders such as Kaipo Jaquias, John Shimooka, Ross Williams, Johnny Boy Gomes, Kobi & Sunny Aberton, Kurt Nyholm, Occy, Kate Skarret , Russell Winter, Tom Carroll, Tom Curren, Andy Irons, Neko Padaratz, Steve Clements, Dane Ward, Paul Parkes and a long list of past and present competitors.

 Also no less important are a large group of European competitors, many of whom have been open to trying new concepts providing helpful relationships in the development of alternative surfboard designs, his M4 Quattro fin & M5 multifin system . Mckee had been with the `Pukas´ company for 12 years as the resident or `in house´ shaper. There he also produced shapes for the `Town & Country´ team amongst other brands.
 Bruce also lived and shaped for five years an Portugal where he took advantage of the amazing surf breaks found there. France, also, was also inevitably a frequent destination with it’s fine array of world class breaks that have helped refine Bruce’s visions and concepts. 

  Enjoy

 

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If you have a Mckee surfboard or pics surfing a Mackee send me to mckeesurf.pt@hotmail.com – I will add it to the Gallery! Thanks, Bruce Mckee 

 

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