It was touch-and-go for a little and there was a slight delay, but we can now say “Welcome to Tonik Newtown!”

Located just off the river-end of the thriving shopping/café precinct of Pakington Street in West Geelong, the third and latest Tonik store provides the perfect opportunity to showcase our favorite and the freshest clothing, footwear and accessories.

Set-up differently to Tonik Surf Centre Barwon Heads and Tonik Waurn Ponds, the Newtown store stocks less brands, yet offers more diverse styles from all.

Providing the best on offer from:

Insight, Tigerlily, Hurley, RVCA, Volcom, Mavi, Rusty, Vans, Quiksilver Womens, Niixon, Sabre, Von Zipper and Havaianas

Tonik Newtown will become an instant favourite for those of us keen on good styling with a unique kind of flavour.

Be sure to check out Tonik Newtown to see what all the fuss is about.

Directions:

From Melbourne:  Head South on La Trobe Tce (Geelong), turn right in West Fyans st, turn right in to Pakington st, turn right into Sharp st (Tonik 50m on the right).
From Barwon Heads/Torquay/Waurn Ponds: Head North on La Trobe tce over the James Harrison bridge.  Turn left at Sharp st (opposite Skilled Stadium).  Tonik 500m on left.

Download the flyer to receive your discount voucher here!!

Friday 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th of March

Fifty loyal customers braved the cold to celebrate the evening in style.

The night kicked off with some bubbly and nibblies at 7pm. Guests were invited to have a wander through the store whilst awaiting the highlight of the night – the fashion parade.

Tonik staff modelled the latest and greatest Mavi styles. Ever the true professionals, the girls strutted their stuff through 35 different styles of denim.

State representatives for Mavi mingled with customers, answering questions about the brand and giving away design secrets to the upcoming ranges.

Everyone that attended the night went into the draw to win one of four pairs of Mavis kindly donated by the company.

Touted as a huge success, stay tuned for further upcoming Tonik events!

Tonik models even eat pizza!

As termed by Tim H….it was The Hammer vs. The Glamour finally squaring-up to see who had the stronger stomach.

After scouring the world (and back shed) the two judges were selected. 

The tie has been split!!! In a turn of events, Tony has been handed the crown after it was revealed the event was handicapped and Tony is 10 years older (and the boss).

Check the photos.  Make a comment.  Who really came-up with the best six-pack?  Tony or Dallas?

Toniks’ two ankle-chomping junior team riders

Standing at four-foot-nothing and boasting voices higher than a church ceiling, Billy and Tom Harrison, aged 8 and 10 respectively are quite possibly the keenest wave-riding brothers ever to set foot on fibreglass.

The brothers have been running rampant at Thirteenth Beach since they learnt to doggy paddle and when Tonik’s talent scout noticed their excellence in wave shreddery, the micro-squealers were on-board!

Juggling school, swimming lessons, football and surf life saving, the Harrison boys still manage to squeeze in at least one surf a day at the crack of dawn and if the wind’s northeast, the likelihood of them rocking up to school on time is pretty slim.

Whether they’re jetting up the coast to catch a swell, road-tripping to Phillip Island for the state titles or pulling in at Beacon, you can be assured they do so with the Tonik spirit!

So head down to Thirteenth Beach to see the little frothers do their thing or if for some unforeseen absurdity they aren’t in the water(30 knot southerlies don’t stop these kids), you might be lucky enough to catch them hanging out in-store at Tonik!

Scroll down to suss out mini profiles of Tom and Billy plus a quick interview with the micro-grommets.

Tom Harrison
Age: 10
Years surfing: 4
Stance: Goofy
Favourite wave: Winki and 13th

Billy Harrison
Age: 8
Years surfing: 3
Stance: Goofy
Favourite wave: Beacon

After three hours of tearing apart a little left-bank at Hutto’s I managed to drag the Harrisons out of the ocean and into the car park for a breather. While I had their devoted attention I shoved a voice recorder in their gobs and picked their young brains for some grommet wisdom.

What do you love about surfing?
Tom: I like surfing with all my friends and having a good time.
Billy: Surfing good waves with my friends.

Which do you enjoy most – comp surfing or free-surfing?
Tom: I like free-surfing better because when you’re in a comp you have to be more serious about it all.
Billy: Yeah, comp surfing sucks because you can only surf for 20 minutes.

What are the best waves you’ve ever had?
Billy: Noosa was barrelling all the way to the shore, I got one little tube! (Froths)
Tom: The last time we went up there (Noosa) it was about three foot and just peeling all the way, really long walls with heaps of barrels.

Who is your inspiration?
Billy: What does that mean? (Giggles)
Tom: Well my inspiration is Joel Parkinson because he’s a good surfer and he’s doing really well right now.
Billy: Oh, Owen Wright because I like his airs and all that.

You both list Beacon in your favourite waves, what is so special about the wave?
Tom: It’s a fun, fast wave and it’s good to get barrels.
Billy: There are heaps of breaks with lots of peaks that have lefts and rights everywhere.

Have you been on any epic surf trips?
Tom: Yep, we went to Byron Bay, Crescent Head, Snapper and Noosa Points. Even though they’re all on my backhand I loved them.
Billy: We got good waves nearly everyday!

Which one of you is a better surfer?
Tom: Definitely me because I beat Billy all the time!
Billy: What! Tom, I beat you at Gunnamatta, you’re a sloppy surfer!

Fists are thrown and the boys’ attention span maxes out, ending the interview.

Photos & Words by James Jacobi

After a run of good waves for the past fortnight, there was no genuine reason for 8 grown men to be hanging out in the car park at 7am… or was there?

From the east along “mad-max hwy” (13th Beach Road) the group first heard the diesel engine, then saw what appeared to be a Mr Whippy Van emerging from the mist. But Mr Whippy van it was not… it was the Rip Curl H-Bomb Van and Cameron Lamperd (National Wetsuit Product Manager) was our Mr Whippy!

Aboard were half a dozen of the first production H-Bomb wetsuits – the world’s first power-heated wetsuits!

Instantly it felt like Christmas, each of the gathering were handed a H-Bomb chest-zip 3X2mm steamer with fully charged batteries for a sample of the future.

A brief lecture on the features and use instructions was followed by a frenzy of activity with the gang jumping into the fresh neoprene to hit the line-up.

Most of the details did not really sink-in due to the excitement, so luckily Cam and Tony Ray (Ex-Pro and current Rip Curl Tech Representative) were on hand to assist.

Once in the line-up, the buzz, the giggling and the conversation about the “space-age” devices seemed to warm the water alone.

Waves that would usually be left were taken, ridiculous close-out reo’s and white-water climbs were attempted in the name of science!

Feedback was awesome with the flexibility of the E3 rubber, the comfort of the battery packs, the easy use of the 3-setting external switch and of course …the HEAT.

Compared to taking your hot-water bottle or electric blanket for a surf, the suits back panel heating element provides instant warmth to the torso and vital organs, which then heat the blood circulating to ones extremities, sounds rich?

This is the real-deal! After one use, many of our sample-group were sold (or at least willing to talk to the missus into the $1499.95 RRP spend for the upcoming winter).

Personally, I am amazed by the suit. After having Rip Curl and other brand “top of the line” wetsuits for all of my teenage and adult life, this is without a doubt the most impressive wetsuit I have ever worn.

Light, comfortable, soft, easy to use and hot (literally). What else could you want from a wetsuit?

Come into Tonik’s Barwon Heads store this winter as we’ve snavelled a full size range of these babies from S – XL for Winter ‘09.

We’ll be stoked to show you the finer details and have you try one on. If you are a size medium, look out … you may have to fight me for it!

Words by Llew Callahan
Operations Manager
TONIK SURF CENTRE

Unfortunately, Tonik surfboards are like money and don’t grow on trees, instead they are shaped by our go-to foam-man Simon Forward.

Fordy spent his early years roaming the Mornington Peninsula, surfing ridiculous finger banks and winning a truckload of junior state crowns.

As an Open surfer he racked up several Victorian titles, a third place at the Billabong Pro Junior and extensively travelled the globe in search of perfect waves before turning his hand to shaping.

Mornington Peninsula legend Paul Trigger and underground ghost-shaper Kenny Reimers paved the way for Fordy and taught him the ins and outs of mowing foam.

With a platform set, Fordy decided to leave the land of triangle banks to relocate to the other side of the bay to Ocean Grove where he has been shaping 4D surfboards for the past decade.

The beauty of getting your next shooter through Tonik is Fordy’s high-tech computer controlled shaping machines.

I recently caught up with the planer-wielding natural footer to get an insight into his renowned machines and also got the inside scoop on the next big thing to come out of the 4D factory.

“The computer machines are more effective than hand shaping because of the accuracy and repetition achievable. You can replicate a board a lot easier from a computer than hand and get it spot on.” Fordy says.

It turns out state-of-the-art machines aren’t the only big happenings at the 4D factory, a brand new range of epoxy boards are just about to be released!

“We are starting to use polystyrene foam with plastic PVC stringers instead of timber which is lighter and doesn’t break as easily. By the time you put the epoxy resin on it’s usually a harder board and a bit more lively under foot.”

Drop into our Barwon Heads Tonik store to give the new epoxy design a test run on the shop’s 6’1 demo board.

Also, duck into Fordy’s Ocean Grove factory to talk boards and you may even be lucky enough to see the mysterious Kenny Reimers floating around the joint!

Fact File

Nickname: Fordy
Years shaping: 12
Mentors: Paul Trigger and Kenny Reimers
Favourite wave in the area: Bancoora Point
Shaping Bay: 9-11 Sinclair St, Ocean Grove

Words and photos by James Jacobi

Competition Closed.

Winning entry: Moono

Matt and Brianna of Rochester take home the $50 gift voucher but more importantly the bragging rights of naming the iconic Tonik dude!

Thanks to everyone who had a crack in the inaugural Tonik competition (sorry there were some seedy ones we couldn’t publish, but we had a chuckle).

Get your thinking caps on for the next Tonik competition – be sure to register your details here to receive the heads up when the next comp kicks off.