This one is near and dear to my heart. Excuse me while I wax poetic for a few minutes.
This is a rule that I know is being broken on the daily. I see it with my own eyes. It’s gotten bad, and I intend to make a video about it at some point. I think that will help people understand. For now, however, we need to add this to the rulebook. Let’s make it official.
I want to be very clear; this is all surf media’s fault. Stab, the Inertia, Surf Splendor, the Grit, the WSL, SURFER, and definitely Stab. Part of it is societal norms – we are living in a consumerist era. But also, part of it is your fault. You are (likely) breaking the rules, you know. So then I must take some blame as well. I haven’t kept you informed.
What the fuck is he on about, you might be wondering. Listen. From 2019-2020, the surfing population grew 28%, says SIMA (Surf Industry Members Association). Still, in 2024, we are gaining surfers at a 5.9% clip. That’s an 8% average increase for the last 5 years. That is a lot of new surfers. A lot of new surfers means a lot of new surfboards.
We’re getting warmer.
Do you remember your first surfboard? Not to judge, but I really hope it wasn’t a soft top. I bought a board from the local pawn shop with money from my 13th birthday. Yellowed, potato chip shape, buckled and repaired – which I didn’t know until it broke while duck diving few sessions later. It was a real surfboard, much too small to be a first board, but I already had some experience in the ocean, and I was standing up on a boogie by this point too. I couldn’t tell you the name of the shaper.
Anyways, it’s not about your first board. If you learned on a foamie, so be it; I totally understand. This is about your 2nd or your 3rd surfboard. By the time you graduate on from a soft top – what was the next board you got? What was your first custom surfboard that you ordered? This is what the rule today is about.
Rule number 82 is –
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHAPER.
I’ve been seeing way, way, WAY too many surfers out in the lineups riding $1000 boards they saw on Stab In The Dark. FireWires, …Lost Mayhems, Channel Islands, Sharp Eye, Pyzel, DHD, JS, etc, etc. Surfers that, might I mention, are having a hard time getting down the line on a wave, are buying these boards.
Why? Do you think because you saw a Professional Surfer absolutely ripping on that board in perfect, empty waves, that means you too, will start to shred that same board model? Absolutely not. That’s like me buying a new set of irons and expecting that I will play even par golf afterwards. That’s like me buying the new Nike Kobe sneakers thinking I’m gonna go 360 dunk. It will never happen.
What you need to do is to find a local shaper near you, and ask them what you should be riding. Don’t tell him (or her) what you want. Maybe you can explain to them what you like, what you have been riding to this point, where you surf, where you (think you) are at – skill wise, that kind of stuff. And you might be able to insinuate something that you have been thinking about – shape wise, but please, do not barge into a local shop and demand that shaper build you a Feb Fish or a Mini Driver.
Those big surfboard brands don’t need your business. They don’t want to build you a custom board. The boards off of the racks at a surf shop are built based off of a Pro Surfers feeling, then standardized to a size that brand feels will sell the best. It’s not meant for you.
Purchasing a custom board from a local shaper will always be the best route, for a plethora of reasons. For one, you will start to build rapport with the shaper, thus increasing the connection between you two and improving the working relationship; the boards only get better over time. Two, it’s (usually) a much quicker turnaround time. You’re not waiting in line behind 10 QS surfers, and the shop down the street who’s waiting on the shipment of Feb Shorties to come in. Three, you’re supporting local business. The shaper likely knows the local waves and conditions better, and should build you a board more custom suited to your home breaks. All around, it’s just a much better purchase, and a much better experience.
I would be interested in any horror stories you may have, because I do know they’re out there. Maybe you ordered a board from a kid you thought was a legit shaper but just turned out to be some faker on Social Media. I don’t know, maybe just vet the shaper first? I have a hard time imagining that buying from a big brand is more of a plus than supporting a local shaper, but please let me hear it.
If I am proven wrong, this rule will be immediately annexed. Which it won’t. So when I’m right, you should probably build your entire quiver with a shaper that works within striking distance from you.
Support your local shaper. Rule Number 82.
Cheers,
hwilsin
Drew Stanfield