Even grandpas like to tear up a wave every now and then. Shaper Floris
Scheepers has a new assignment: to cook up a couple of zesty surfboards for
a grandfather-granddaughter team. Scheepers says that every client comes in
with a new and unique request.
"We get quite weird requests," says Scheepers. "Next week we're going
to shape a board that's 11 feet long. And for the same person's
granddaughter, who's two and a half years old, we'll build a six-foot
board [in the] same style as his."
Scheepers isn't a grandpa yet, but he says even he's getting
a little old for surfing. He has young pros that work with him. They take
his designs for a good, hard surf as a test of their strength and capacity
for fun.
"I've got team riders that test for me. I'm older now, so I can't
surf the way I used to -- but I get info from my team riders," says Scheepers.
Scheepers knows he's got a good design when a rider heads for a major
competition on one of his boards. His company is new, but they've already
recruited some pro riders in the area.
When he's not working on his own creations, Scheepers teaches young
prodigies the intricacies of shaping. "We actually have quite a few kids here....We
teach them how to build a surfboard," he says.
According to Scheepers, there are no formal shaping schools; it's
just something you've got to learn by trial and error a lot of the time.
"You normally start at a young age, and you start building boards. And
after years go by you get better and better," he says. One of his students
has scraped together $1,000 to set up shop in his parents' garage. "That's
normally where you'd start," says Scheepers. "He needs a sand plane,
a couple of basic tools, some lighting and then he can start shaping."
Scheepers wants kids to follow in his footsteps. He is especially hopeful
that women will break into the field.
Shannon McIntyre started out as an art student; her exhibit caught the
attention of local surfers. "I was an art student for a long time and I was
on the surf team. My whole art show had to do with surfing and surf culture.
I was like, 'Ah! I need a new board. I'll shape one for the art
show.' And I did it, and it turned out pretty well. So, people wanted
me to keep doing it. It was kind of something that I fell into," says McIntyre.
McIntyre encourages people to attempt their highest goals, no matter how
tough it may be to succeed. "Whatever you want to do, it just takes putting
your mind to it. Anything's possible to do. I want to be an encouragement.
Like anything that you wish or dream you can do, it takes hard work in putting
it together," says McIntyre.
Kathy Phillips is the executive director of the Eastern Surfing Association.
She is exposed to all angles of the surfing industry, from beach cleanup to
surfers' rights. She says, quite honestly, that the road to stardom is
dark and dusty for shapers. "I wouldn't recommend it as a lifelong career.
There are only a few people that have really made a successful career out
of it."
She says, however, that shaping skills can open up opportunities in other
fields. This means that a passionate shaper could use their knowledge of glass
and resins to earn a little income on the side.
Phillips has a friend who has made the transition from shaper to fiberglass
pro. "He started out working for a surfboard company around here....He got
experience in how to use fiberglass and how to use the resins. Now, he has
his own [fiberglass] company, not even working with surfboards. He does boat
repairs, he designs and develops all kinds of custom fiberglass shapes....He
has a very successful business going, and it all started working for the local
surfboard company. "
There are shaping pros that work full time for big companies. Phillips
says she doesn't want to discourage hopeful shapers; there are ways to
get your foot in the door of surfboard production. "Some of these kids try
to shape their own board out in their garage and they get a taste for it,
but then they end up going to one of these companies," says Phillips.
Once in the shop of a big company, don't expect to sign your name
on a winning board within the first week. You've got to pay your dues
and listen to the words of wily colleagues.
"Maybe they're just cleaning up the scraps off the floor
at first, but they get to spend a little bit of time apprenticing with the
more experienced workers," says Phillips. "[They] start to learn some part
of it....I'm sure that there's certainly the opportunity there to
get into it, but it's really a specialized skill."