In the fall of 2014 Dan Hunter became inspired to start shaping his own Hand Paddles for body surfing, thanks to the Nixon and Patagonia film, ‘Come Hell or Highwater, The Plight of the Torpedo People’, a documentary that highlighted the sport of Body Surfing. In the film, many riders used Hand Paddles, made of plastics and wood to help the rider glide through the water, while moving down and across the face of a breaking wave.

In the following years I hand shaped and carved Hand Paddles, lifeguarding each summer and body surfing as much as possible. A few years later, Hydrofoil Surfboards came onto the beach and one was purchased by Saltaire Ocean Rescue, my Lifeguard Crew. I asked myself, why should the board riders have all the foil fun, and thus the idea for a Hand Foil was incepted. Following two wooden prototypes, designs have been refined and ‘Da HAND Foil’ was invented in 2023. With the help of modern technology, Da HAND Foil is 3d Printed with Recycled PETG material, epoxied using Eco-Friendly resins, hand made straps - all made in the USA! Small batch production has begun and Da HAND Foil will be ready for purchase for Summer 2025!