Tyler Callaway

The last decade has brought several advancements in surf technology ranging from the introduction of carbon fiber and epoxy boards to Xcel’s newest pull over wetsuit. One of the most significant of these advancements was the introduction of the detachable fin system made possible in the late-nineties by FCS. Director of Business Development Tyler Callaway was one of the original innovators for these detachable fin systems that are now an integral part of the surfing experience.
Callaway wasn’t always the San Diego fin expert he is today. Born in New York City, Callaway began surfing at the age of 12 after his dad retired and moved the family out to east Long Island. Stoked on surfing right from the beginning, Callaway frequented Westhampton beach.
“I always loved playing in the ocean, so it was a natural evolution for me to take up surfing,” Callaway said. With a desire to make it as a professional, Callaway went to Hawaii after high school to compete in the US Championships and ended up living there for five years.
“I went to college there (Hawaii), and figured out about the end of that time that I was gonna be a real poor pro surfer … as in starving!” Callaway said about his eventual transition from professional surfing into the corporate world.
Callaway moved back to New York and tried his luck in advertising, but, needless to say, this was not where he found his life calling. After three months at a Madison Avenue advertising agency and over the restraints and fakeness of the “kiss ass corporate world,” Callaway turned back to his original passion for the ocean.
“I spent about a year-and-a-half on Long Island bartending, teaching wind surfing, and selling newspaper advertising when I got a job as a rep for Local Motion, Nectar surfboards, Astrodeck and XM,” Callaway said about his start in the industry. “Any rep thinks he’s doing it tough now, it was way different then. You know, the industry was young and we were all just kind of going for it. There were no cell phones. You had to pull over to a pay phone to confirm your appointment. There was no blackberry and email. It was all done by hand. Yeah, those were the good ‘ole days,” Callaway reminisced. In 1984, after two years on the Island, Callaway made his way west to work for Beach Town in Newport Beach, California. Callaway found a piece of home in the jetties of Newport, “Where I grew up on Long Island had some great jetties that the Army Corp of Engineers built … so, I was attracted to Newport cause it had the same type of jetties.”
Carving his path, and now in the right direction, Callaway went on to work as an executive for big-name companies such as Pacific Sunwear, Rusty and Reef. On developing Rusty’s skate line, Callaway said, “I was lucky enough to work with Tony Hawk and his team in skate. Those guys were all just amazing mentors of their sport and their worlds. And we did really well. It was sort of the start of companies being board-riding companies and not just surf companies.”
Callaway was happy with what he was doing but wasn’t completely excited about the product he was selling. In 1997, when three Australians, Bill McCausland, Greame Bennett and Gary Mountford, approached him with an idea he had been thinking about himself, he couldn’t resist but help them start what is now FCS.
“I thought about launching my own fin system because back when everybody had fins glassed onto their boards there was just a real blind spot in performance. Very few people realized what different fins could do for their board,” he said. So, they created a detachable fin system that allowed surfers the versatility of changing their fins according to conditions, performance goals and personal preference. FCS was wildly successful. In its first year of business, more than 75 percent of the boards at retail had FCS in them.
“When you give somebody a product that helps them surf better and they go out and they feel the difference in performance … they come back so excited and they’re lit up. That’s really rewarding,” Callaway said. Another part of the job that Callaway loves is his opportunity for collaboration with shapers. “To me, that’s the best part of the job, to interact with these amazing guys, and to share their ideas and their vision for performance enhancing technology and be in partnership with them on the fin side of it to help them realize their goals and their riders goals. To me, that’s just about the most exciting thing in surfing that I could do.”
From pro surfing to FCS, Callaway has had his share of experiences in the industry. At 48, however, he knows he has found where he will stay with until retirement. “It’s been ten years now,” he said. “A lot of times it’s been a lot of hard work, but I wouldn’t trade it.”