Rochfort Surfboards - 100% man made

Seeking out surfboard shapers across the planet that are a cut above is something that we love to do here at Surf Bunker. Often you can see the quality, knowledge and attention to detail stick out a mile away and other times you have to look at the subtitles, the materials involved and the general countenance of the shaper.

Not only are Rochfort Surfboards all of the above, they can also boast to be part of the 100% handmade club. Yes and not only that but the pair of hands is the same from start to finish.

Brad Rochfort started life in South Africa, at the age of 10 he was surfing and at the age of 15 he hand shaped his first surfboard. Brad is Rochfort Surfboards, that is it, 100%. If you want a certain type of board with a certain finish just talk to Brad.

Check out this wooden effect Lamination for an example of what I am talking about.

Now you see the sort of things that are possible, you can have an absolutely stunning100% handmade and finished shape of your choice that looks awesome as well.

We wanted to find out a bit more about Brad and his businesses and luckily he was up for a chat.

SB: Hey Brad, thanks for sparing us your time, how have the waves been in Cornwall this winter?

Brad: The surfs been a little erratic this winter. We had the usual good days and a few epic sessions on the south coast but there were a couple of big storms in between that seem to have messed up the banks at several beaches.

SB: We understand that you shaped your first board when you where 15, how did you get into shaping so early?

Brad: I was always into art and making things as a kid. I started surfing in 1990 when I was 10 and could only afford beaten up second hand boards. I’d fix all the dings using resin from the local DIY shop and then I’d use permanent marker pens to draw flames all over it, or whatever was cool at the time. Then one day I snapped a board, just in front of the fins so I peeled off all the fibreglass, cutting up my hands in the process. Then I used a hand saw, some sand paper and a wooden block and hand shaped a little 4 foot shortboard in the garden. It took me a whole day and I’d never been taught how, but it actually looked pretty good. Then a local laminator glassed it for me and added mini thruster fins all for R100 (about £6). I sold it to Backline Surf Shop who sponsored me at the time, they put their logo on it and hung it from the ceiling in the store. It was a great feeling to see that board and know that I had made it myself. That feeling stuck with me for years and it took another 13 years until I actually shaped a real board. My good friend Brian Page taught me and I have a lot to thank him for.

SB: Your surfboards look stunning, what would you say is the most challenging part of making a board for someone?

Brad: The hardest part, as a hand shaper, is when someone wants a board with a specific volume. If they want 28.5 litres then they can get that off the rack at their nearest surf shop. I guess I’m the shaper you come to when you want something different or unique. Something you haven’t seen on the rack. I use the traditional method of asking lots of questions. What is their weight, regular board type and local spot? What do they want from the board? I just do it by feel and that seems to work for me.

SB: Do you draw inspiration from anyone else in the shaping world, past or present?

Brad: Inspiration from other shapers really pushes me to try new things. As a grom in South Africa, the late Peter Daniels was my inspiration and he shaped boards for hometown hero’s Frankie Oberholzer and Mike Roscoe. These days I love the way that Tomo and Vulcan push the boundaries of design and technology, or the pure craftsmanship of Album Surfboards, Cory Graham or David Charbonnel at Swop. My style is a mixture of these guys amongst others. I’ve also started working with EPS and epoxy and Mike Woo from Hawaii has been very helpful with this. Even at home in Newquay we have an incredible collection of shapers like Skindog, Matt Adams and Luke Hart.

SB: South Africa has some amazing looking waves. What made you move and set up business in the UK?

Brad: I was lucky enough to grow up as a grom in SA, but with dual nationality I actually consider myself more English. After my parents split up my mum brought my brothers and I to England which was the start of a series of pathways that lead me to Cornwall. My wife and I and our little boy have a great lifestyle and an awesome group of friends I also call family. Shaping is not actually my main job. I work full time for Skinners Brewery as their sales rep for Cornwall and I shape boards on the side. It’s too hard to make money out of shaping, and as someone once said to me, ‘shapers are the worlds most underpaid artists’.

SB: Do you still have the first board that you shaped?

Brad: No, the first board I made myself didn’t actually surf very well! I sold it on eBay but now I wish I’d just kept it in the rack. The second board was my first custom order. That was a hand shaped Gerry Lopez style single fin gun for my mate Danny. I glassed it in the kitchen which ruined all our food and stank the house out. The next day I ordered a massive shed and I was banished to the garden. I’m sure one day i’ll start using CNC shaping machines, but I always wanted to make 100 boards by hand first. I’ve now made 99 boards, all hand shaped, glassed, and sanded by myself. It doesn’t sound like a lot but its taken 8 years. My 100th board will be for my son Kai. He’s one and a half years old but it won’t be long before he gets in the water. He loves it, he’s had swimming lessons since he was 3 months old, and he had his first surf with me on a longboard in France, aged 10 months.

SB: How much would a 'Hippy' model set me back with full extras and what is the wait like at the moment?

Brad: The waiting list is always about 8 weeks although right now its 10 weeks. Its a bit of a wait but thankfully all my friends and customers understand that one of my boards will take longer. I’m really fussy and kind of a perfectionist. My wife would consider this a bit annoying but attention to detail is really important. A Hippy model with 5 fin setup, resin tint and carbon would be around £450 without fins.

SB: If you could offer a young shaper just starting out in life any advice what would it be?

Brad: White boards are boring. Be creative, try anything and ride everything…

SB: If the world had more shapers like Brad then we would all be riding better surfboards, I am afraid that is a fact. Even going on what you have just read you must realize that paying 450 sterling notes for something that is shaped by Brad with that level of attention and skill there should be a queue down the street and round the corner. I have to again ask the question of why anyone would pay money for a board off the shelf.

Right after I finished writing this and Brad had answered my questions he sent me some pics of the boards which I have included in this article. The Vader! The speedball base! not to mention that prototype chisel thing. I now find that I want to ask more questions. How does that Speedball base work? what is the Chisel going to ride like?

The best of luck to Brad and his family and we emplore you not to stop making boards, the world needs good shapers, innovators and perfectionists and it looks to us like you have that all covered.