Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago, I was invited down to Rob’s place in San Diego to check out his collaboration with the very talented, Jay Nelson, a San Francisco-based artist who specializes in custom crafted automobiles and other awesome functional art projects. Jay recently built a treehouse for Facebook. And that’s cool. Next up, the ultimate surf vehicle. What follows is the result of their collaboration: Through the Lens. – Zach
When you personally have a vested interest in something, whether it’s making a surfboard or building out your van, when you get in there and do it yourself, there’s already a connection to it, and that thing is going to feel right to you no matter what.
Not everything needs to be instant and perfect. Imperfections are good. You learn to appreciate them and embrace them. I don’t want to be perfect. I don’t want anything to really be perfect. I’ve taken some of my favorite surfboards that I’ve ever had and taken them back to Al Merrick, and he just looked at them and went, “Wow, this fin is totally crooked” or “This is totally wrong. This has a huge twist in it.”
That’s what made that board magic.
Director Tyler Manson, artist Jay Nelson, and Rob Machado prepare for a surf break.
