Shape like a girl, because it’s awesome. Photo: Laurent Chantegros
Surfboard building is unlike any other trade – there’s no formal training or trade schools. Hand shaping surfboards breeds a culture all its own, interconnecting generations with knowledge and tradition passed down from one to the next. Techniques are often unique to each shaper and refined over time, and eventually given to someone else to progress knowledge. Mentorships, which often spring from within intimate circles in shaping bays or sanding rooms, have mostly been a benefit of the guys-only club. It can be a tough one to break into.