by Tony Brigante
Tigre bona
Kauai, HI, USA
Tigre Bona shapes with SwellCycle
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About Tigre Bona
Tigre Bona was created by Tony Brigante from making longboards and fishes mostly for himself, and in the last few years for family and friends. Most of his customs are noserider-based designs, which he finds endlessly interesting.
"The fact that intentionally shaping and changing contours and anticipating the reaction of the hydrodynamic features of a surfboard and water flow along with wave shape is just so crazy. You could do it in your backyard. I made a shaping room out of a walk in freezer. I’ve been doing start to finish builds on boards and it is full of blood, sweat and tears (actually)."
His current approach to surfboard design is to make the best noserider possible, one that perches forever and turns well.
"It's pretty fun and interesting to see the differences in a shape and how it feels."
Tony’s also been shaping his own boards for competitive longboarding and has a number of wins in 2025 alone.
"It’s something that feels good, making my own board, start to finish and win a contest abroad."
"It’s a social skill and experiment to know how someone surfs and to shape them a board accordingly, that will work in a certain style of wave that they surf."
"Surfing is undeniably addicting, and you’re always progressing until the end. It is such a different level of people and a connection to all of the vibrations of the planet."
Why They Use Our Tech
Tony Brigante's goal with Swellcycle is to create a 100% plant-based board, with the least possible waste and using alternative energy. He loves that we can use linen flax cloth and plant-based epoxy to make a board.
"Traditionally shaped, glassed, and sanded boards create a lot of waste. If we can preserve the feeling of surfing as everyone knows it, while riding a sustainably crafted surfboard, then we’ll make a real dent in the environmental impact of surfboard building."