Long live the shaper.
Not the one that just turns up and signs a bunch of blanks that have come out of a machine. Not the one that is so famous that he gets other people to make his boards under licence all over the world.
No.
Who we are talking about are the artists that put everything into making the craft that came from a discussion with the customer. We are talking about the shaper that hand shapes the blank, works the cloth, glassing, drilling fin plugs, in short they see the whole process from blank to polishing and it all gets done by hand.
These are the people that we like to honor at Surf Bunker. Their skill and dedication is something that should be cherished and which is available to us lucky and spoiled people at a fraction of the cost more than buying a pre-shaped off the shelf. What other sport retains the service to have your equipment tailor made for you with this kind of price difference? None.
We have to look after these people, I cant stress it enough. The surf world is changing and trying to fit our surfing into a box. How many pro's have signature boards out there? How many people buy them? Answer is a lot. Shockingly. I mean, who actually thinks they surf like Kelly or Mick? Really?
Check out this 3 min flick of Dave Allee describing the situation better than I.
So who do I want to surf like? I want to surf like me, because I am me and I want to have fun, for me thats what I surf for. Not for a challenge, not for improvement but just for plain, old fashioned fun.
Getting back to the point, which is that everyone surfs differently and so everyone should and could have a board that they want, that they (with a little help) have requested.
Plenty of boards have come and gone through my surfing life but the ones that I still have are the ones I have had shaped for me. Through talking to the shaper and getting involved in decisions on the fly it is possible to have a different type of relationship with the foam under your feet. It is something that I think every surfer should try.
For all those that still need convincing, this is what goes into a hand shaped board.
So what happens if you decide you see a shape that you like but its a Matt Biolis boards and you live in France or South Africa?
You could go to your local ...LOST stocklist and grab one in your size or order one from the factory.
OR
You could take a picture and the specs to your nearest local shaper and start the conversation about them making you a board like that, but for you and in what ever waves you surf in and tweaking it for what you want to do on waves.
I know which I would do.
Support your local shaper and try having a board shaped for you, have that conversation, put some time into your new board. I promise you will not regret it.
Dedication.
Channels.
Hand Made.