Platts was built on heart and soul. It was a mother providing a place for her boy and his ‘mates’ to ‘hang out’ and explore the endless possibilities before them. 

It was a champions call to ‘go and conquer your dreams’. Kevin would go on to be one of the great surfers of the era. Often found on Freshwater beaches with his inner circle, all sporting their hand-crafted functional surfing shorts with simple but eye-catching geometric designs.

Jean and Lance continued to ride the wave of demand for Platts Surfwear. During the mid 60’s, Kevin became an in-demand shaper for Keyo’s, his sleek and progressive designs contributing to the evolution of the modern shortboard.  Kevin connected surfing to ‘art’ – centered in soul, personality and expression. As Kev approached shaping and riding as an art form, new ideas took hold, boundaries shifted and could intuitively follow new waves of thinking, for Kevin’s shaping – the future was open.

Kevin was instrumental in the development of the V bottom, he was constantly tinkering with the board rails, shape and basic architecture. He is also accredited with playing a major role in shaping the short board revolution, alongside other great innovators of the time. His high profile only added to the desirability of the shorts that his mum was making at home. Kevin went on to forge his own successful career in shaping, opening his own factory in Noosa and again writing himself into Australian surf history.