Hey! im new to swaylocks. I have recently been in south africa for 6 months (surfing and lifeguarding). i was pretty much amazed at the relationship between surfers and shapers out there; even amongst the largest surfboard shapers out there (bilt, clayton, fishstyx). i could walk into the board factory shop and sometimes just speak to the shaper. they were friendly and i felt like i was treated very well. I found this much more personal than the US. Upon my return i found that about 3 of my friends just picked up brand new stock merricks for close to 700 from local surf shops. Now that i am back in the us and making money (lifeguarding in nj at the moment) i think if im spending such a large amount of money it should be on a custom board. After seeing how the whole processs worked out there, i would really like to develop something similar with a shaper in the us.
Basically, what i am interested in is finding good shaper in the US. I would like to order a custom board. I have pictures and video to show the shaper how i surf and hopefully he can make a board that would go well with my surfing. i only know of one shaper that a friend rides for that this might be possible (j7 surfboards). i would like to get a board and give feedback and develop things so my next board can be better. I am pretty into improving at surfing and hopefully this is the next step in the process.
Does anyone have a recommendation of a shaper i should go to?
Register on the SurferMag forum, and post this question in the design forum. Specify that you’re in NJ, and you’ll get a lot of suggestions from the East Coast guys. They always sing the praises of their local shapers - and there are a lot of them. If you’re thinking about a CA shaper with a pretty quick turnaround time, the guys that I always hear lots of positive things about are Robert Weiner (Roberts), DK, Ian Zamora, Ryan Lovelace, Alan Gibbons, Steve Pendarvis, Album…etc. There are other big names, but the turnaround times aren’t so quick.
hey tom. i look forward to stopping by and chatting with you. I have off 2 days a week (mon, tues). i work from 9-6 i wouldnt mind coming by after work one day. let me know when is good.
Mike. thanks for the advice. i really want to get into it more. so far i have just made an alaia. but i plan on making atleast one this summer.
thanks. i will look into those shapers and try posting the same question in the surfer mag forums.
thinking about it raises two questions. not that i have a problem going to a lesser known shaper but just out of curiosity are there any larger labels that still do hand shapes for non sponsored riders? i guess if you have that many sponsored riders, that you are doing hand shapes for, you probably wouldnt have time for the average surfer. And do most pros ride hand shapes? are they generally regarded as better boards? i really dont know too much about the surfboard industry. but im eager to find out because over the past 5+ years i have really been putting a large percentage of my money into it.
Im in monmouth county,nj the town is spring lake (between belmar and manasquan).
finally, this is my second time posting on swaylocks and my first day as a member, not that i would not be otherwise, but i am very open to criticism on my posting ettiquette.
My shop is in Wall off of Belmar Blvd, stop by if you want, I'm in the middle of making a board for Corky Carroll right now. Bring your vids and your favorite board and we'll have a few beers, talk shit and go from there, no pressure.
Welcome Hamilshred. Dude, go to AJW, great shaper good business man. He shapes for a lot of guys in NJ so he knows what works here. But there are plenty of really good shapers around. Surfermag forum will give you more names than here will for sure.
LanceM gave good advice about asking for NJ and EC shapers. There are PLENTY of competent shapers in NJ and on the East Coast. You want a personal experience where you can walk into a shop and shoot the sh!t with a shaper and picking up the phone to call a guy in California wont give you that experience. I’m not going to rattle off a list of great East Coast and NJ shapers since you’re already talking to one.
Tom makes insanely beautiful longboards. His line-up killer model is sick! Can’t recommend him enough as a business man and shaper.