“But you’re amazing at this! Have you never thought of trying to expand it a little and make this a full time thing?” I ask. It’s clear he knows his trade. He looks at me, still smiling. He’s been smiling the entire night. He loves this. One of the most gratifying feelings in the world is seeing another human being completely immersed and fulfilled with what they’re doing. Pure creation has always made me happy.
“I’ve thought about it,” he says, still hand sanding out a concave with a piece of sand paper wrapped around a scrap block of wood. “You know, I really think I could expand and push out a lot of boards, but I don’t want to do it for that. I don’t want to be like …Lost. I do it for people like you guys. The people who keep coming back.” I don’t have anything to respond with. I mumble something like that’s really awesome of you, or something like that. And I start thinking about that microscope again. I’m watching a dying breed. A species clinging to existence.
What’s killing Scooter? What’s killing hand shaping? Perhaps I’ve stumbled upon this art form too late and it has already declined beyond resuscitation. To truly know if something has died, it helps to be there at birth.
Gary Wilson has been hand shaping surfboards since 1987. I can’t quite call that the birth of board shaping, but 26 years is a long damn time to be doing anything. If you’ve been honing a trade for longer than I have been breathing, than you have instantly earned my respect. He is the founder of Kinetic Surf Designs out of South Carolina and I’m hoping he can give me some good news about that status quo of hand shaping.
“Production hand shapers are extinct, for the most part, unless you are in Brazil, China, Vietnam, or another low wage country,” he says. Did I miss the obituary years ago? What about the little guys who want to do it all on their lonesome? Is there still an opportunity to earn a living off of shaping boards by hand? “Be prepared to struggle and sweat if you want to do this for a living,” he tells me. “Fact is, the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines are much more efficient and produce a nicer product anyway. The consumer doesn’t really care either way as long as they get something that gets them stoked by way of shape, brand recognition, and value.”
It seems blunt and it seems harsh, but let’s be honest – it’s true. The vast majority of consumers, and I’m just as guilty on occasion, are focused on the wrong things. We see a brand we know, we see a price tag, and we see a shape. We need to see beyond that. My shoulders get a little heavier as I realize maybe I’m to blame. How can this obsession with brand and flare be combated by someone working from scrap?
“Handshapes do offer an experience for the money. Rapping with the shaper, BS-ing about sessions, shapes they like and dislike, even hitting a session with the shaper. I’ll even let the customer help shape their board as long as they agree not to sue me if they cut their finger off.”
And after 26 years, how many boards is Gary Wilson pushing out annually? “100 to 300 a year these days. And I also do a mean SUP.” Yes, those count too.
Scooter’s shaping room is nestled within a larger workshop. There’s sawdust everywhere. This man never stops. Half finished projects give the room a warm fullness. There are at least fifteen surfboards here and there, hiding in the rafters and stacked like wallflowers along the edges of the room. There are tools everywhere. I hear Scooter’s voice in the background explaining how he has accumulated all of these tools over the last decade or two and I realize I don’t have any tools. I wouldn’t know how to use them if I had them. Yeah, I built a tree house once, but I don’t have a trade. I don’t have a skill. Not like this.
I’m still holding out hope that the outlook isn’t as gloomy as it seems, so I start looking for a shaper new to the game. But from what I’ve heard so far, I may be searching for a unicorn. I happened upon Steve Divita, founder of Head-High Surfboards, out of Virginia. He’s only been shaping for around four years.
“As of now, it’s just a part time thing I do because I love to do it. I would say it would be challenging to make a living shaping boards by hand, start to finish. There are so many shops that carry pop outs from Thailand, China, and you can pick up one for brand new for under $300 in some shops. That would barely cover my costs of materials.” Well. I can see where that might kill the inspiration for start-up shapers. How could it not?
