Philosophy

My philosophy is simple, but remarkably rare in today's industry.

My driving passion is to create hand shaped boards to suit individual surfers needs. Total control over the design process allows me to focus on the surfer and adapt different designs to suit. By shaping boards by hand it allows me to explore the hundreds of potential combinations that can create that elusive magic board that every surfer is looking for. Such a philosophy takes time, commitment and hard work which, unfortunately, not every shaper is willing to give. The sad truth is that the majority of mainstream shapers now use machines to mass create their boards.

We are now in a world where 90% of shapers are letting machines do the work. However the luxury of minimal effort, maximum output is short lived. These machines and the factories they sit in are expensive, expenses mean overheads, and overheads means having to mass produce boards to pay the bills. Suddenly there isn't a lot of room to move, not a good thing in something as evolutionary, intricate and varied as surfboard shaping.

The philosophy of hand shaping surfboards is nothing revolutionary, quite the opposite, and that's where the strength of hand shaping lies. I have been shaping surfboards for different surfers with different needs for seventeen years. No amount of technology can replace the importance of chatting over a cup of tea about what you want and then having a shaper with the experience to convert that into a board that is perfect for you.