I’ve always admired surfboard shapers. The amount of tenacity, grit, and dedication required to consistently produce boards that work is staggering. Materials are costly, and it takes thousands of hours of work and hundreds of finished shapes before a shaper can claim any semblance of mastery over their craft.
In order to be profitable, not only does a shaper have to believe in themselves, they have to have a product that is undeniable in it’s ability to deliver that feeling that every surfer is looking for.
Nowadays, where mass-produced giants of the industry have a stranglehold on the market, it’s amazing to see smaller scale custom surfboard brands fighting the good fight in the face of these corporate juggernauts. One such shaper is former professional surfer Scott Crump, of Sol Life surfboards.
Since the 1980’s, Crump has been applying his vast ocean knowledge and love for design into his custom surfboards and the results speak for themselves. He’s forged blades for some of the best surfers in the world, including Adam Replogle, Bud Freitas, Gabriel Medina, and Shane Powell. Currently Crump is residing in Noosa Heads, Australia, not too far from the spitting sand bottom pointbreaks of the Gold Coast.
Crumpy supported me during my own short run as a competitive surfer, so I was more than happy to have him on the podcast while he was in town to deliver some boards. During our chat we discussed his upbringing, introduction to competitive surfing, early sponsorships and mentors, time spent as a team manager for Billabong, design theory, and how he met his lovely wife, Tia.
We also discussed the merits of his latest obsessions, twin-fins and channel-bottomed surfboards.
Crumpy is a real one, and this is an episode that you don’t want to miss!
