Back in 2001, surfboards were experiencing a weird moment in time.

Most stock boards were a reflection of what the pros were riding. and at that time, boards were hyper-rockered and incredibly narrow. This was the before times (before fishes, eggs etc were widely accepted).

In response to the madness, Rusty introduced a new model called the Piranha, which broke away from the norm and offered a wider, flatter and more user friendly volume. The triple wings were killer.

The Piranha enjoyed a place in the Rusty line for almost two decades before being retired a couple years ago.

The design had so much merit that Rusty shapers Hoy Runnels and Rick Hamon revisited the concept and modernized it with a new wider profile, friendly width and thickness and tuned up the bottom contours to fit a quad or tri-fin set up. This allows the surfer to "skate" over flat sections and glide through average, everyday conditions but also perform in solid overhead surf. 

Instead of relaunching it with any preconceptions, they named it the "Illuminati."

In the video above, Master shapers Rick Hamon and Hoy Runnels discuss how they took the 24 year old design and modified it to become the Illuminati.