hey im 15 years old and shape boards. people are always happy to see the boards i make for the low prices i make them for but they think my dad is the shaper some times and as soon as they figure out im the shaper they get discouraged like its not the same board it was 7 seconds ago but not always some of them still order boards but i was just wondering, would you be less likely to order a board if a 15 year lod shaped it, even if it looked and felt like a good board?
Howzit Jon, You should post this in the general posts if you want to get more answers. But as far as I’m concerned age is not the biggest factor, ability and skill are what counts. Some people are meant to shape no matter how old they are so don’t let your age be a negative, there are others, some even youger than you that are shaping boards and some of them learned from this site so welcome and feel free to use out resources and experience to make you the best shaper you can be. Aloha,Kokua
and I’m 44 and have shaped , glassed and sprayed 16 boards in my entire life …and they all suck [but I rode them anyway ]. So there ya go …age really DOES mean nothing !!
ben
A guy called Mark Richards [do a google search] got given a planer for , I think it was , his 14th birthday . The rest , as they say , is history …
Jon- There is a 16 year kid we see at the contests who shapes beautiful boards. I think he lurks here too sometimes. Chris are you out there? Some people have gifts some people don’t. If you are a sculptor of foam- it will show in your work. Experienced surfers know what they are seeing/feeling. I would trust Carl to shape for me and I’m old enough to be his dad. Here in Santa Cruz there lots of young shapers- most of them really good. Learn to listen well, take some business classes, woodshop, and go to college if you can. Don’t try to make a big business out of it yet- shape for your friends and make a few extras to consign to local shops. Be careful- when you make something you love your business it can change to something you resent. Make sure they are glassed well- nothing will ruin a reputation faster than junky construction. Good luck and remember to have fun and be nice. Steiny
if you were a swaylocker defintely i trust you shaping skills. but i am 16 yr old shaper so i don’t think that matters too much. if you weren’t i would have to see a board you already made, but if you learned from you’re dad then i have to see your work still but i get a stronger sense of how good you are.
No I wouldnt because I’m sixteen and I shape
I’ve shaped two boards so far since this summer a fish and a shortboard my fish is in the glass shop and my shortboard hasn’t been glassed b/c not enough $$ yet. My friend is also a shaper he’s a senior at my school and I like his boards a lot more than one of the boards i broke I got from last christmas and it was a pretty good board.
sean
Thank God I had friends that trusted me to shape them boards when I was 15 years old. By the time I graduated High School I had shaped nearly 30 boards for my pals, the following summer I had become a full time employed shaper at Challenger Surfboards. I know of grown men that still can’t shape to save their lives, keep the faith
Jon, son,
At your age it will be the guys you hang with who will count.
Have your friends stoked on your boards and you will build confidence.
If the older guys see a kid and not the quality of your shapes, just surf better than em’ !
Learn how to do all the stuff, glassing, sanding, all of it, to fully understand before you pass off these things to a glassing shop.
Would I buy one off a fifteen year old? No, but only because the fifteen year old was me!!!
Speedneedle.
I was shaping in highschool (the 70’s). I went on to other things and now have come back to it again with all the entusiasm of a 16 year old. Stay with it. Keep informed. Learn. I often wonder what would have happened had I continued. I think I’d be poorer but maybe more content. Surfing is an obsession and it just gets stronger and stronger.
ps i teach art. You should have seen the paintings Picasso was doing at 15.
Hey Jon
Another 15 year old here. I am shaping my first at the moment but have been on the site for ages ow, lurking and learning. I would have started to shape ages ago but unfortunately i had no money (bumma). I would buy a board from a 15 year old but only after i checked the quality, doesnt mean anything though because i would check any board i was buying.
Go hard. Shape a lot of boards and then laugh at anyone that dowted you when you where starting.
Cheers
Jon, (and all the other under 20 shapers out there)
The world needs you. Many of the threads on this fine site come around to the fact that there’s not enough young shapers and surftech etc will take over the world. More you shape, the better you get and personally, I’d buy a board from a 15 yr old or 75 yr old if said 15 yr old or 75 yr old made a board that I liked. Simple as that, quality speaks volumes. Keep at it.