Surf Grom Magic Mikey with Obama Traction Pad

There have always been cool designs on surfboard traction pads, but most of the design work has been left up to the shapers. It looks like all that is about to change with the new Obama traction pad. To be honest I NEVER expected to see Obama on a traction pad. We could easily start seeing all kinds of people on these things, like Kelly Slater and Bob Marley.

Traction pads are used for getting some extra grip on your pivot foot. Since you pivot your surfboard (as in, make it turn) with your back foot, the traction pad goes at the very back of your board. When you popup, one goal is to make sure that your back foot lands on the track pad. Which leads to the realization that you’re stepping on the person’s face every time you catch a wave. But I don’t think stepping on the face is really the focus, it’s just a cool track pad.