The Importance of a Custom Shape
It helps to have friends, they always seem to come in handy at any stage in our life, as long as you have good ones. But it really helps to have friends who have the ability to mow foam like no other and create beautiful pieces of functional art. Those are some great friends to have around. As it turns out a good friend of mine, Trey Martinho, of TVM Surf Crafts, happens to do just that, and I managed to convince him to make me one of his famed, magic carpet-like boards.
Like the rest of the surf world, I’ve been watching a lot of Torren Martin these days. And, just like everyone else who watches him glide on what look like seemingly forgiving boards into some proper surf, I wanted nothing more than to get my hands on one . Soon after I saw Trey in the water one evening and pitched the idea to him. He told me that he had been wanting to shape a board like that for a while now and was down to use me as a guinea pig for the experiment. So, we settled on a 6’3 rounded pin, wide point forward under the chest, double channels out the tail, a deep V in the back, and of course, the fin setup had to be a twin. The next week, Trey got the blank and the craftsman got to crafting.
I was able to sneak into the shaping bay one day and see him put the finishing touches on the foam and see the first coat of glass laminate the board. Now, it is something special to see a board that is designed specifically for you coming together. He’s walking me through every detail of the shape, how it is supposed to feel in the water, how water flows through the channels, where the fins will be set, and how he’s going to glass it. You begin to get a sort of personal connection to the board before it even makes it into your hands. And to see my name scribed into the foam is just the cherry on top.
As I’ve written about before in more depth, a surfboard is a very sacred thing for someone who sees surfing as something spiritual. The board under your feet is the only medium between you and the energy you are harnessing in the wave. That feeling of connection is only elevated when you know that the piece of foam under your feet is not only unique to you, but the person who shaped it is a close friend. That sort of connection to your equipment is not something you can truly get in most other “sports.”
Surfboards are truly functional pieces of art. Seeing a lot of the glassing jobs people are doing today, plenty of boards would look just as good hanging on the wall as they do in the water. So my recommendation to you is to save a bit more money, pass on the factory made boards, and get your hands on a custom hand shape that you’ll likely have for life.
Oh, and if you want something really special, maybe shoot Trey a message.
