Support Your Local Shaper

So, today I would like to do a followup post regarding my boards, and my shaper, Tom McNamara.

I grew up in a small town outside Newport,Or; I started surfing at about age thirteen, which was right around the time Ocean Pulse (the local surf shop) opened their doors. My first new board was a 6'10" squash tail with red rails off the rack. This was my baby, and I learned all my first maneuvers on it; how to do a proper cutback, bottom turn, and floaters. Everyday, good swell or not, I was in the water.

After a few years had passed I happened along a 6'3" bat-tail at a garage sale for $75.00. It was a little dinged up but hey, it had the Ocean Pulse logo on it and I knew they would fix it, so I brought the old board to the shop for Tom to repair. Come to find out, that particular board used to belong to one of the Ocean Pulse employees, Greg Niles.

He was shocked to see it and so stoked that I was able to purchase it for such a good price. Being the young teenager that I was, and looking up to Greg as somebody who has surfed all over the world, I was ecstatic to have his old board under my feet. This board shaped my style. It allowed me to go faster, turn tighter, and really advance as a surfer. I still rode my Red board on bigger waves, but the bat tail was my go-to for everything else.

A few years later, I decided to get a bigger board shaped because I was surfing a lot during the winter and winters in the Pacific Northwest can be something of a challenge on a 6'3" (remember, this board was designed in the late 90's early 00's so boards were thin, narrow, and had more rocker than anyone would ever need) so I ended up going with a 7'2" board to keep it reasonable, while still having that extra bit of board to float me. This was my Todd Chesser inspired Blue Beast; my first custom board and Tom allowed me to come to the shape shop whenever I wanted, which looking back on it now he probably regretted saying so because I was there all the time watching everything he did, asking a thousand questions, and reminding him about the fact that he was in Point Break (he really was -- go watch the movie!).

Tom is a special breed of man. He shapes every board by hand, and he puts hours upon hours of time into each step. No computers, no pre-shaped blanks; just old school and all local.

Sure, I could have gone with a Channel Island or Rusty board, but to know that my money would be staying in the community and helping my local shop stay in business, was important to me. I know that my business has always been and will always be appreciated. This is why even though I live hundreds of miles away from them now, I still got in touch with Tom and asked him to shape it for me. I wanted a board like a Rusty Dwart; double winged to a rounded tail, short, and wide. Tom took my order and we called and emailed each other frequently to go over the details and just BS about old times. One might call it a labor of love of some sort. He said the wings were a bitch to glass, but I could tell that shaping boards was still a huge part of his life.

When I finally got it delivered it was everything I thought it would be and more. Hand signed by Tom and ready to conquer the mushy Washington/Oregon summers.

I could never say too many good things about Tom and his skills as a shaper. Not only as a shaper, but also as a friend and person. It is so important for one to support their local surf shops. The guys at these shops are the same guys you share the line up with and they know more about your local breaks than anyone. Not to mention we might be one of the only sports left in the world with the opportunity to have equipment made by hand. If we don't support them, then in a way we are helping put them out of business in this economy, and we will also be losing something that makes our memories of surfing so incredibly special.