Maybe I shouldn’t do this but i want to ask the question why so many shapers are falling off the chart when the surf industry seems to be flouroushing?
One of my best friends in the surf industry is struggling and he has hand shaped well over 20 thousand surfboards by hand!!!. If you live on the Gold Coast you still would have trouble thinking of who I’m thinking about…Darcy.
Darcy is a legend and holds the real value of surfing we all should apply, it’s about the passion therefor commited to providing quality. This man alone has improved my surfing ten fold.
I know some people do not agree with me thinking most shapers deserve what they get because of what has happened in the past with the backroom deals etc…
but if we loose the knowledge of someone who has shaped over 20 thousand boards by hand…what have we lost…knowledge? and can we get it back.
I have shaped 5 wooden boards and honestly still don’t have any idea of how to get a shape work in the real world…trust me they ride but nothing like I hoped.
There still are shapers that havn’t sold their sole but these guys won’t be around next year, and that might have alot to do with international sales considering the exchange rate in Australia…sorry for not understanding what is happening overseas??? please inform!!!
I think we are being controlled by a silent and shy force a bit like a closed society were only some people get a break and everyone doesn’t get an even chance.
I have come across this in the filming side of the surf industry and now chose a different path because bashing you head agaisnt a wall hurts and you can only do it for so long…even if you love it!!
So when a major competitor entre the market such as Nike, it must be a good thing???
we have to reinvent, that's all there is to it,Stuart as well and don't go in too big, like I hope he hasn't. I don't care what anyone ever says, the shaping machine fucked our little industry, there are threads on the industry page, where I went mental, this is no new can of worms Justin, keep up the good work mate, I get bored here, H.
just like Surf mags sicking DVD’s one the front cover has destroyed another little industry i love so much…surf filming making, let alone the closed door mentality.
I guess when it comes to big bussiness the little guy doesn’t really have a chance.
The main thing that i think along has killed the surf industry is if some little grommet does a good move he gets evetything for free…sponoed mate sick!
What a joke, these kids are customers there to keep their hobby and industry going. In no other sport does someone get such a leg up.
I used to race motocross b grade and we never got a free bike let alone tyre, things were redude in price but not free, maybe a free sticker…this in my opinion is killing the industry. And i won C grade nationals!!! $250 and i was so proud!! NATIONALS!!
…yes, the other day I went to the local surf shop and other shaper was there
so we chatted about Brazilian Ricardo Martins, that some one hire him to “shape” some boards
this other guy was the one that glass the boards; of course the machine was the shaper and then RM finish them
those clear, not so intrincated shaped, sanded, matte, FCS plugged shortboards cost 30% more in this surf shop than most boards
and 20% more than fishes built by me (that are the most expensive there)
The surf industry is filled with self promoters, who with the help of shaping machines, asian labor, and mommy’s money have diminished the earned respect for those who have put in the time or learned from the masters.
Darcy is a legend and holds the real value of surfing we all should apply, it's about the passion therefor commited to providing quality. This man alone has improved my surfing ten fold.
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There are many reasons why the hand shaper is suffering. Two stand out. Your comment above highlights one. It's a major exaggeration. No shaper or mentor helps someone's surfing ten fold. I guess if you were brain dead riding a no float tooth pick at over 200 pounds and they suggested you ride something with floatation that could be a ten fold situation. Most are not.
The other thing...the surf industry and hand shapers have been as guilty at pushing this as anyone. It has mostly been about selling the latest to the kids or the latest fad. Fads...are created by kids mostly..even if some of them are middle aged kids. It was the easy route and many took it.
When you sell one or two types of boards as the end all of surfing...then it's only a matter of time before the mass producers gain a foothold copying that board or boards. Next thing you know the shapers themselves are no longer needed and the kids really don't care. How do you think Firewire stays in business? Folks who have bought into the sales campaign on the web and the magazines. They hear the hype and say everyone else is talking about them saying, " they helped my surfing ten fold "...I want to try them.
Somewhere down the road they wake up and say those lyrics of David Byrn...." My God what have I done. " Then realize they just turned 50.
Exaggeration and downright lies is what built the so called industry. It's always been built on sand and not rock and therefore cannot stand. About every ten years it falls only to be rebuilt. I don't think it will happen again.
The industry is not healthy. You can bet on that. Many shops you see today will not be here in five years.
There are guys like Huie and some others who have gone back to what shaping used to be...simplified. Trying to get back to the garben ain't easy, but at some point... most feel the need to get there.
Lyrics from a famous song.
We are stardust, we are golden We are 2 billion year old carbon And we got to get ourselves back to the garden
This thread will go off the richter with opinions from every angle. 100 pages, minimum.
A cottage industry is tough on you when you are selling the ‘cool factor’ or the latest bad surfboard model name. The big names flourish by selling that, and other stuff. Gimmicks are the word today, old hat tomorrow. FAD me. Small potatoes come and go, but mostly turn to mashed potatoes. Loyalty is for sale to the lowest bidder. (Some of the time.) Some people are smarter than that. Unfortunately, not all people.
The people that will survive a long time are the true craftsmen that understand the whole ball of wax. Sometimes the boards and the name sell themselves. Griffen, Coil, Barnfield, Loher, Phillips, and all the rest, not to mention the rest of the big names that will always be there. – Of course that’s not saying that great craftsmen will not get eaten by the big machine. That’s the nature of the beast.
"Many shops you see today will not be here in five years."
A local shop that had two retail storefronts closed one of the storefronts a year or so ago and just closed the other one this past week. As far as I could tell by the auction house handling the closure, they liquidated everything right down to the bare walls.