To help promote this, we are opening a contest to give away some cool and hip drink coasters to protect your coffee table and counters from water spots and rings … and they are made from 100% recycled neoprene wetsuits and rash guards once worn by watermen and women like us!

To enter, simply fill out the form below (or link here) completely and you make are the subject line says “Drink Coasters“will be automatically entered in our “Best Drink Coasters Ever” give away courtesy of the fine people at OVNY’s Recycled Records! Don’t forget to enter your email address so we can notify you if you win …

Good luck, and remember to recycle those wetsuits!

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REMEMBER to put “Drink Coasters” in the subject line!

WIN A SET OF RECYCLED RECORDS surfboard coasters courtesy of OVNY.

We loved these functional and protective coasters made from recycled wetsuits (neoprene), and the safety they provided in protectin our surfboards from stress fractures as well as the unsightly wax residue as a result of board on board contact (ewww!). Win yours today by completing the form below!

We have 3 2 1 more of these OVNY beauties left … and your surfboards are dying for some protection right now!!

See the Recycled Records review posted here and an interview with the man behind OVNY here.

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Enter the Give Away by sending your completed information via the iJS secure form below, just be sure to type “RECYCLED RECORDS Give Away” in the subject box!

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Right from the beginning, the feel and texture of the surfboard coasters was quite different from what we had expected. Since these black record-like discs are made from ground up neoprene - picture a cross cutting shredder going to town on your wet suit! – they have a textured feel and weight to them … not smooth and molded like a mouse pad or the rubbery skin of your laptop sleeve.

The coasters are formed using a high heat / compression process, employing an adhesive base to bind the chopped pieces together. Overall the coasters have a heavy feel to them, “masculine and strong” as resident textile expert Kaya puts it. “You can almost see the history of all the wet suits that were recycled back to life, dying to tell stories of surfing days gone by.”

One thing to remember is that the coasters are not molded, so folding one in half like a Frisbee is not something you should do. Much like a pair of thick flip flops (or slippahs in Hawaii), if you bend them enough times, they will start to fold at that spot and eventually break off or flake away. NOTE: We have to admit that this particular aspect was not an officially sanctioned iJS test, but the side tests that resulted in using them as Frisbees after so much prompting acted more like torture tests for the Recycled Records.

Officially though, the surfboard coasters tested quite effectively. We placed the coasters between two longboards initially, a 9’6″ epoxy board and a 9’0″ beater board that we waxed liberally just for this test. Since the two boards were very similar in profile and shape, the coasters needed very little adjustment once we placed them between the two surfboards. With the straps holding the boards together onto the soft rack, we took off for a freeway ride to Oahu’s west coast.

Conversely, another set of boards made their way to the south side, headed to Waikiki for a session of surf and grindz (pronounced food for the non-locals). On this particular trip, we strapped a 5’9″ fish with some heavy rocker on top of a coffee table flat 9’6″ longboard. This setup proved to be the real test for the coasters as their protective job was in question based on the diametrically opposed rocker setup and length of the two boards.

Anyone who has ever placed a heavily rockered shortboard on top of a longboard on a roof rack knows how you immediately get nose and tail squash-action into the bottom of the longboard. AND if you strap the boards down to prevent them from flying off your car, the resulting compression pressure can be bad news for both surfboards. However, the Recycled Records held their end of the deal fairly well, allowing us to elevate the shortboard from the bottom surface of the longboard just enough to avoid any damage.

The first bonus benefit we found with the Recycled Records was that they were perfect anti-cement pads placed under the surfboards while the boards were being waxed. Placed conveniently under the center fin or skeg as well as near the nose, we were able to wax the surfboards without scratching the bottom or fins, even on cement.

AND SO WE SURFED. (This is where no actual product testing happened, just a lot of good surfing that conveniently masqueraded as research). But after the surf sessions, er … research … we were surprised to find some unadvertised uses for the surfboard coasters!

The west side surfers discovered that the coasters worked really well as changing pads (or mats) to stand on while standing on a sand parking lot. Thick enough to lift your feet from the sand and allow you to stay sand-free, the coasters let our staffers keep a good portion of the sand from following them inside the car. The Waikiki surfers used the coasters as nose and tail guards to rest the surfboards on while they slid the surfboards into their cloth socks.

DO THEY WORK THEN? In a nutshell, yes. And then some. Here are the overall observations from the staff:

• Without having to use board bags or socks, the surfboards stay perfectly spaced from each other. [The coasters] provide enough spacing to avoid wax transfers from board to board
• I like the spacing the coasters provide between the boards, it allows air to flow in there and cool the wax rather than melt or get squashed down which requires a surf comb afterwards
• The wax just peels right off the coasters after you use them – easy cleanup!
• Even with board bags, the coasters prevent boards from getting smashed into each other by creating spacing to allow for individual rocker
• You can stack the coasters for better spacing – two in the nose area, one in the tail – you just gotta play with them
• The coasters are thick and strong, with plenty of “shock absorbing” property to protect surfboards
• They coasters prevent more rubber from going back to the land fills, enough said!
• In a pinch, I used the coasters between the roof of my car and my surfboard when I couldn’t find my soft racks …
• Two words people: mouse pad!
• I used them as padding for the tail of the board when I stand em up in the garage, mesh bag and all

We obviously like this new product for the simple fact that it prevents more garbage from getting dumped into the land fills, but it also performs a crucial function in reducing waste in other areas not necessarily attached to the land fills. By using the coasters, we could stop using our beach towels as spacers between the boards thereby reducing the “waxy” build up on the towels themselves. In turn, less laundry loads. We also like that proper spacing and padding prevent unnecessary damage to our surfboards during transit, travel, or storage. Less repair chemicals as well as better longevity for the boards!

Does anyone still make actual records these days? Since the advent of CDs, the vinyl spinner platters were doomed to the kitschy corner of local retro shops, and perhaps dusty milk crate stacks of die-hard disc jockeys. Music may not fade and die, but the respective forms that it takes has left a mountain of debris ranging from eight track tapes to 78 speed records. Similarly, surfing may never fade and disappear into the history books as a fad gone by … but the mountain of rubber and neoprene left behind in the form of wet suits and rash guards could remain in our land fills. Kudos to Michael Briody and OVNY.org for doing something to help mother nature and for creating a useful surf product at the same time.

Making Recycled Records is an ingeniously simple process that benefits the environment as well as surfers – take a large grinder, feed a heap of used wetsuits into it, and put the pieces back together using a lot of heat, pressure, and a little adhesive. The high heat and pressure not only forms the unmistakably recognizable look and feel of OVNY’s Recycled Records, but as an added bonus the baking process also acts as a disinfectant by burning off fabrics and nylon materials. The neoprene itself, a closed cell rubber, repels microbes, oils, and wax by design.

So we sat down with Briody in the heart of Waikiki in Hawaii for a quick chat about all things neoprene and surf:

Thanks for sitting with us. Tell us about your company’s name, OVNY.
It was a nickname I got in college, and it’s one of those words that has no meaning. When I needed a name for the business, [I searched for] what was familiar and the logo, the design, and the name came back … it has a personal meaning and evolved from something familiar. The name Recycled Records is because they’re circular and black,  they look like a record. Music was a big inspiration for me throughout my whole life … I feel like everybody can relate to music, and everybody can relate to [the Recycled Records]. I say peace for your piece (your surfboard)!

So you’re from New Jersey …
I’m originally from Long Island, and then I moved to Jersey full time in 2001 … right after 9/11 went down to take care of [family] . I grew up surfing all my life. My uncle was in the navy and as soon as I was big enough to walk, he had a life vest on me and threw me in the ocean and told me to learn! Get on that board! The best childhood is in the ocean … couldn’t wait until the weather broke to get back into the water, you know?

Tell us about the surf in New Jersey …
Surf in New Jersey? It’s epic to be totally honest with you. We’ve got some really great swells that people are totally shocked about. I was on the North Shore yesterday, and one of our home breaks, Belmar, was the cam of the day on Surfline. That tells you a little something … but we have to wait for the winter. It’s fun, sunny, and warm in the summertime but the waves are small.

What do you see as the mission or vision of OVNY?
My main concern is to keep the neoprene out of the land fills, to help mother nature out so she doesn’t have to break that stuff down, and then invent a product that serves a purpose.  [The recycled records] saves you from a dirty, waxy towel to wash … it saves our boards from stress cracks, it keeps the performance aspect in check. That’s my mission, to keep the land fills free of neoprene and keep surfboards safe during travel.

On the initial website, we couldn’t quite see the details on the Recycled Records as far as construction. Can you tell us about the process of making the “coasters”?
It’s a two step process – there’s a grinder and a mold. We actually use a big grinder, similar to a large paper shredder. You feed in the rubber and it grinds them up into loose flakes and then it’s put back together with heat and pressure and alittle adhesive, like Elmer’s glue based adhesive. After the material is chopped, when it’s rebound and baked in high heat and pressure, it performs like a disinfectant.

[The Process] burns the nylon, that’s why [the records] look so dark. Yeah, basically heat and pressure. The raw nature of the process kills any bacteria holding materials like fabric and nylon. I tried other methods too, initially I thought to cut and glue wetsuits together, but the reasearch process led me to heat, chopping, binding … chopping and heat was the best way to make the neoprene process work. From the get go, I knew cutting and chopping was involved somehow … At the show, we have a full wetsuit going into a meat grinder to give a visual to people as to how it sort of works.

You just takes heaps of wetsuits and throw ‘em in as is?
Yeah, no zippers though … but the disinfecting part, it’s all in the process.

Tell us about the printing process to get the designs on the neoprene.
It’s a regular plastisol ink … to get it to stick to the rubber. Plastic loves plastic, rubber loves rubber, they’re all in the same family… so water-based ink didn’t work on the neoprene. But we outsource all of our printing to a company called “Earth Safe Printing” in New Jersey, and they use all earth friendly processes.

Are you developing other recycled products from the neoprene?

Yeah! I have ideas for some recycled flip flops and personal changing mats for your car.

You’re starting a recycling program to collect used or discarded neoprene involving local surf shops and surf schools as well?

The neoprene recycling program allows surf shops to be proactive in the community and prevent garbage dumps from filling with the rubber. Involving the shops and schools in the recycling program also tells the community that future neoprene items will be recycled rather than disposed of. The shops are keen to it because it’s helping our Earth, it’s helping our environment, it’s keeping our water clean. It’s all relative – the water, the mountains, the Earth … they all coincide.

We’re just trying to do our part to help that cycle. We also joined 1% for the Planet, the program that takes 1% of our sales and directs it towards total environmental protection plan. Besides our immediate hands-on effort with our recycled products, we’re also giving back to other people who are doing good things.

The Recycled Records come in some unique packaging too don’t they?
All the packaging we have is reusable, so that people can keep them and reuse them. The surfboard coasters come in a reusable mesh bag custom made for [OVNY], with a backpack cinch so you can put your sunblock in there, or your booties and gloves … whatever you’re going to use it for. In the end, you just shake the bag and get all the sand out. Waste not want not! Everything needs to be on point with an Earth friendly purpose.

How can people get a hold of your Recycled Records or more information about them?
We sell them on-line and ask your local retailer for them, they’ll be there soon. I have been campaigning local shops, so once our store locator is up on the website, it will be easier for the public to find. We have a couple of stores in the East coast that carry them now, but the website will be the best source for information.

Anything else you want to share?
As a surfer and someone who loves the water so much … someone who appreciates the aesthetic values of life, I took it upon myself to find a way to relieve the burden of recycling wetsuits. Doing something for a fellow surfer, you know?  I feel that if I help one surfer out, that’s cool. But if I help out the whole [surf] community, it’s even better!

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Surfing as a past time

Sure, you can leave ‘em be, and let the wax continue to build or slow your surfboard down … but if you’re like most surfers, you take care of your stick like it is your prized possession. Now, it’s no secret that we like surf products … and we especially like them when they actually work for us. So we were stoked when we saw a need and ran into OVNY’s surfboard coasters.

Stylish and designed to simulate old school records, OVNY’s recycled records surfboard coasters uses 99% recycled wetsuits, and theyclaim to protect your surfboards from board-on-board wax rub off AND travel stress cracks (from being pressed against each other on top of your car).

So we did what anyone would do and lined up to get some of OVNY’s recycled records surfboard coasters and queued it up on the testing floor … stay tuned for the tests!

MORE about surfboard coasters HERE