757 words with a wise young man

I while ago I was lucky enough to meet an American chap called Robert who was travelling with a whole bunch of very interesting looking surfboards.

The thing is about surfboards is that you have to talk about them, in fact you can spend hours and hours talking about them. Surfboards are all different and very interesting, a bit like people. During our conversation he told me that he and his friend called Andrew had started a surfboard company in Virginia Beach on the East coast of the states. Those where the boards in question, 757 surfboards.

Andrew kindly agreed to spare some time to talk to Surf Bunker about what he loves doing most in the world, making boards that people will drool over. Not only does Andrew have age on his side but also has a passion for using a sustainable approach to board building.

As we all know surfing is an addiction. When you have been bitten, you are in for life. Andrew I would say has been bitten more than once and seems to have an amazing amount of passion for what he does.

SB: Hey Andrew thanks for sparing us the time, how old are you?

Andrew: No problems at all, I am 25, you know its pretty cool to be one of the young guys doing this. Most of the other guys are in there mid thirties to late 50's and its cool to talk to them and get there thoughts on board design.

SB: What age where you when you started surfing?

Andrew: I was 6 Years old and I learnt to surf in Coco beach Florida, my mum taught me and the first time I popped up I bashed her in the head and she took a chunk out of her tongue.SB: Where is 757 based?

Andrew: We are based in Virginia Beach on the east coast of the states, the waves here can actually get pretty during Nor’easters and hurricanes good even though we get kind of a bad rap for wave quality.

SB: When did you first have the idea for 757 surfboards?

Andrew: It was after a trip to Costa Rica when my friend an I , Robert graduated, we got back home, went for a surf and both broke our boards. At that time it would cost 700 dollars upwards for a new board and he convinced me to, well maybe try making our own boards and here I am.

SB: Why the name 757?

Andrew: Well actually that is our area code in Virginia Beach and it kind of fit as there is such a tight surfing community here, we went through a lot of names before though.

SB: I think it is awesome to see younger guys shaping, who do you look up to for inspiration.

Andrew: Matt Biolos is the first guy I would say that is making some of the most interesting performance boards at the moment so I would like to think that I am kind of following a bit in his footsteps. There are loads of guys out there making decent surfboards that are ever evolving the sport, and I love the creativity. It keeps us on our toes!

SB: I really like the look of your Reaper model, how much would that cost and how long would it take to get one if I ordered it now?

Andrew: Well I things are crazy busy at the moment (laughs) I am finishing school at the moment and have a lot of boards I'm working on but normally about 6-7 weeks mainly because I do everything myself, and finishing up my degree. Its all done 100% by hand. The reaper model starts at $500 USD.

SB: One board for all waves or different board for different waves?

Andrew: You know you have friends that just ride one board no matter what and then you have other friends who take a whole quiver to the beach and then decide, well that's me (laughs)

SB: What is the thing about shaping boards that excites you the most?

Andrew: I would say the challenge, if I have a meeting with someone about shaping a board for them I do a lot of listening and try to make the board that they want, so I am always trying to do something new whether it is pulling in rails here or adding some more or less rocker. If they are happy with the board then I am happy.

SB: Do you think that surfing with someone might help you know what sort of board they would need?

Andrew: Oh yeah, totally, I wish I had more time to do that. A lot of the people I shape boards for have now turned friends anyway so I get to surf with them a bunch and watch them progress on my shapes.

SB: Any plans for expansion?

Andrew: Yes, what I am doing is creating a brand so in the future we will have all sorts of surf apparel to offer, not just boards. We are also planning on getting involved with lots of charities locally to bring the surfing community closer which is awesome.

SB: What do you think about the sustainable surfboards?

Andrew: Well I have just switched over to bio resin which is the way to go, anything that reduces the footprint from shaping boards and makes my job safer is awesome for sure. I am currently the only person shaping with these materials in the Virginia Beach area.

SB: Who is your favourite surfer on the WCT/WSL?

Andrew: It has got to be Taj, he is always doing crazy stuff, trying things and was one of the first to do that. But these days all the young guys are blowing up like, the stuff that John John is doing, wooow.

SB: Who is going to win this year?

Andrew: Maybe Gabs, I would like to see him win another one but I don't know you can never count out Kelly, he has so many tricks up his sleeve it wouldn’t surprise me if he stole it.

SB: Can you describe how you felt the first time you got barrelled?

Andrew: I am actually not that good at getting barrelled. I prefer to just fly down the line and get some air and lay some power hacks but when you do get into one and come out again, well that's a different thing altogether.

SB: What was your first surfboard?

Andrew: It was a 5'4 1980's looking thing with a horrible paint job, all yellow and beaten up, my mum still has it in her garage and will never let that thing go.

SB: Thanks for sparing the time to talk to us at Surf Bunker Andrew and good luck with everything.

It is genuinely refreshing to hear a younger guy talk about shaping in such an animated way and having seen the end product I would say that Andrew has a gift for building quality performance craft. just think Al Merrick, Matt Biolos, they all started somewhere and I for one have this young man from Virginia Beach pegged up there with that sort of potential.

Andrew will be doing a tour of the European shapers and getting some waves this summer/autumn to try and glean more ideas and inspiration for pushing the envelope in designing performance surfboards. I will be meeting up with him and look forward to testing a 757 Reaper model.