Next week on Home and Away in the UK, as Mali reveals a new look for the board shop, it inspires John to revamp the surf club.
When Mali (Kyle Shilling) reveals his transformation next week, John (Shane Withington) will likely experience some jealousy. However, this isn’t a case of perm envy; rather, it’s the surf club’s recently renovated board shop.
As he formally reopens the store under its new name, Manta Ray Boards—a nod to his hometown of Mantaray Point—Mali is beaming with excitement.
John is a little less enthusiastic as he arrives at the club to find Mali blaring music outside, but Mali soon sweeps JP up in the moment and offers him a personal guided tour of the new look board shop.
John is suitably impressed by the revamp, and even moreso when he snags some of the buffet food provided by Mackenzie (Emily Weir).
The revamped shop even receives big praise from surf club president Alf (Ray Meagher), who claims that it breathes new life into the place.
Overhearing Alf’s compliments, something he gets seldom of himself, John suddenly feels quite inadequate as realises that his juice & gelato bar is now looking a little tired in comparison… and that won’t do at all!
The following day, John approaches Mali to see if he’d mind helping with a new design for the juice bar to help the club feel even more fresh after giving it some thought that evening.
Mali is happy to assist, but only for a fee.
John had hoped he would be able to ask for a favor, but Mali makes it clear that any work must be paid for, and asks him to let him know if he’d like a quote.
John decides to create the design himself because he is aware that the club couldn’t afford to pay Mali. But when he solicits Mali’s input on some concepts, Mali is unable to conceal his reservations. John obviously has no knowledge in interior design!
Although he manages to get Alf’s blessing to go ahead with the juice bar refresh (must have caught him at a good moment!), John faces an uphill struggle when he speaks to Alf.
Alf tells him all the hoops he’ll have to jump through first, including staying within budget and providing all the design details in advance.
Overhearing the conversation and seeing a disheartened John realise he’s out of his depth, Mali makes a decision…
A clearly fed-up John is distracted with his moodboards later that day, as Mali leaves with a knowing smile. John finally gives up as he heads back into his office and bins all his ideas.
He soon notices a file that has been placed on his desk however, with a note attached—”For John, on the house, c/o Manta Ray Boards”
Inside, John finds a proposal booklet that Mali has put together for ‘JP’s Juice Bar’, complete with 3D renders and colour charts…
The cockles of John’s heart are well and truly warmed, what a thoroughly nice bloke that Mali is!
Six years of Ben’s Boards, which were first introduced by Ben Astoni (Rohan Nichol) in late 2018, have come to an end with the introduction of Manta Ray Boards.
Ben (Patrick O’Connor) was given ownership of the board shop by Ben when he asked Dean (Kestie Morassi) to take over the business after Ben and his wife Maggie (Kestie Morassi) left Summer Bay in 2020.
When it was Dean’s turn to leave Summer Bay with Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) earlier this year, Dean passed the baton onto Mali, gifting him the business with Ben’s approval.
While Dean chose to maintain the Ben’s Boards name, logo, and aesthetic after Ben left, Mali has made the decision to start over by adding his own touch to things.
The former brand was only nine episodes away from achieving the 1,000-episode mark when Ben’s Boards debuted in episode 7025 and Manta Ray Boards made its first appearance in episode 8016.
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