The Jay Surfboards shop was burned in a recent fire, and it held both the heart of Scottish surfing and irreplaceable items. Photo: Jay Surfboards/Instagram
Somewhere at the heart of Scottish surfing was a shaping shop called Jay Surfboards. It was a beautiful spot, full of shaping tools, art, hand-crafted surfboards, wetsuits, and foam dust. It was a place for the community to talk shop, a place full of laughter and irreplaceable items collected over the years. This is all in past tense, sadly, because at the end of March, Jay Surfboards burned down, along with everything in it.
“I lost my workshop a week this past Saturday,” Jason Burnett wrote in an email. “I lost everything in a couple of hours. I’ve been making and repairing board for nearly 20 years. I’m devastated.”
Burnett’s passion for water began with swimming. He swam competitively for local swimming clubs in Edinburgh before a friend introduced him to surfing. Like so many others, he was hopelessly hooked from the first day. Soon after, he began fixing his own boards. His friends noticed he was getting good at it and enlisted him to fix theirs, too. A few years later, Burnett decided to try his hand at shaping one for himself in a little garden hut. And then another and another and another. As he gained experience, his surfboards got better and better.
Orders began rolling in organically — just through word of mouth initially — and eventually he realized there were enough to start a real business. And thus, in 2014, Jay Surfboards was born. He moved his shaping bay from his garden hut to an idyllic spot on the grounds of Newbattle Abbey College in Midlothian, and threw his weight into growing his new business. He did it all, from designing to shaping to glassing, and his boards became more than just surfboards. They were works of art, and even the scraps from those works of art were turned into art. Every surfboard Jay made was unique, beautiful, and cherished by its owner.
But now the place all that happened in is gone, reduced to ashes and burned fragments.
“Words can’t explain what has happened and how I feel,” Jay wrote. “EVERYTHING was destroyed in the fire that I’ve built since 2014 and many more personal, irreplaceable, and invaluable items that have now gone. The fire raged for hours through my workshop and neighboring ones too.”
Luckily, no one was hurt in the blaze. It was only material possessions that were destroyed, but still, the pain of losing something you’ve worked so hard for can be devastating.
“It’s an understatement to say that we have lost the heart of Scottish surfing,” wrote the creators of a GoFundMe to help Burnett rebuild. “Jay has lost his business, lifelong work, and many irreplaceable items he has collected over the years. He has had a massive input into developing the sport in Scotland and has brought surfboards and happiness to many of us in the community. He has also supported talented surfers with boards and has given guidance and support to many…. Many possessions can’t be replaced with money, but our financial support is a good place to start.”
Burnett isn’t hanging up the towel, though. “This is not the end of Jay Surfboards,” he said, “but I need time to think about my next step and for this tragic event to sink in.”
To help Jay Surfboards and the Scottish surfing community, donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.
