Along the way, there are definite markers: moments in time that signify a revelation or a shift in perspective. One such moment occurred when his older brother, Mikala, returned from the Rip Curl Search with a 5’7” thruster-fish gifted to him by Derek Hynd. Already a sponsored grom, young Daniel took note of its hard edge, four channels, and glass-on fins — it looked like something Tom Curren would ride. Riding it for the first time, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 5’7” was just as fast and responsive as the 5' 1” grom board he was accustomed to.

Twelve years old and inspired, Daniel went on to shape his own board from the front-half of a broken rhino chaser salvaged from the beach, riding it all over Oahu. The board ultimately reached France, by the grace of Rell Sunn, who brought a dozen Oahu groms to the surf festival in Biarritz. It can still be found today, tan as the sands, shackled up to the outdoor shower at the Jones compound – Rocky Point, Hawaii.

The iconic Jones house, where countless surfers found friendship and shelter on the North Shore. Surfboard makers came through as well. In this way Daniel would become friend and peer to some of the best surfers and shapers alive, while paving his own inroads to the world of professional surfing. Daniel traveled far and frequently, competing and searching for perfect waves, while putting his abilities to the test along the way. But he always came home – to Rocky Point, Hawaii – nexus of the most progressive surfing on the planet. Like it’s yesterday, Dan will recall the years he’d get to watch Occy hack the running walls of rocky lefts during contest season. 

In 1996 a shaping bay was built in the basement of the Jones house, surrounded by a labyrinthine collection of surfboards. The boards are still there – boards built by everyone under the sun, tested everywhere, in all conditions. Inspiration is endless. With a shaping bay downstairs, Dan was able to ply the craft with greater consistency, working on shapes for himself, friends and family. Which brings us to the logo – appropriated from the early dorm-room surfboard shapes of John Jones (Dad) – whose resin deck logos featured the sea bird, as seen today.

But it was the boards built and tested with Mikala that would begin to mold the creative direction of Jones Surfboards. This began in the 90’s, when performance shortboards were getting narrower, with less foam thinly distributed  across greater lengths. The Jones brothers couldn’t help but go the other way, experimenting with shorter, curvier outlines. It was only a matter of time before they moved on to twins and quads, always aiming to go faster while staying as loose as possible.  And then came the heavier artillery – sleek step-ups and guns for Sunset, Pipeline, and  Off The Wall. What we have is a constant evolution of surf-craft, meticulously designed to find full expression in swells ranging from two feet to twenty. By the year 2014 the bird had taken flight.

In 2023 Mikala Jones went off in search of the barrel that never ends. Daniel still lives and shapes boards on the North Shore of Oahu. On any given day the trades blow softly through the ironwoods at the edge of Rocky Point. There the ocean reflects the sparks of a passing sun. Someone has caught a wave – maybe it’s Daniel – flying down the line and out of sight. Thanks to you, Jones Surfboards continue to make stories of their own.