He took his first four shapes that he ever made to McCrystals in Oxnard to get them glassed. Though he was a little embarrassed, he was surprised by how impressed Casey McCrystal himself was. He was immediately offered a job and a couple years later, he was working alongside one of the shapers for the company Lost in San Clemente, handshaping boards for pro’s in his own shaping room. “I got feedback from the best surfers in the world…that kind of thing is priceless,” said Todd. He was gaining experience shaping a lot of different types and styles of boards. But in the back of his mind, the Central Coast was calling him, and soon enough, he realized that he had enough of a reputation to start his own line. His move to begin his own label was carefully calculated, and with the experience he gained from the industry thus far in his career, he began Proctor Surfboards in Ventura.

Customization is the key to Proctor’s success in the business. Every board that Proctor makes is as unique as the surfer riding it; the board has its own living, thriving soul. This is because Proctor takes the time to talk to each of his customers to assess and achieve each of their personal needs, whether they be professional surfers or retired businessmen who want a new hobby; there is no discrimination. Just like his neighbor who equipped him with the right board years ago, Proctor wants each of his customers to have the best board possible for the kind of surfing that they want to achieve. “It’s not like basketball where you just use any basketball,” Proctor said about surfing. “Boards are such an individual thing, it can make a huge difference what type you use.”

Proctor’s commitment to the most advanced technology and his state of the art factory allows him to produce his dream of individually specialized boards. When he first started his own label, he had ideas for some kind of computer system that could take any aspect of a board design and accurately customize it. Coincidentally, at this same time, Brazilian shaper Luciano Leao was in the throes of designing a system and machine that would revolutionize the world of shaping forever. Proctor went to Hawaii himself to check out the machine himself and even gave input as to how to improve the system. He was one of the first to own and use this program that allows for customized accuracy. The system records and adjusts the different design features that the board will have, and then sends the information to a machine that mills out the exact measurements. Proctor keeps a huge database of all the boards he’s ever handshaped, and this program can adjust each to the unique needs of his customer. After recording all of the customer’s information, Proctor handpicks the different design aspects from the database to create one, accurate, customized board. All of the customer’s information and their customized designs are then saved onto a disc. The customer can then come back to Proctor and say, “Hey, I really liked this one board, but I’ve gained 20 pounds,” and Proctor can accurately readjust the design but maintain its original functions. “It’s a new frontier in precision and design,” said Proctor. “People know what they’re getting every time.”

The production of his boards is also completely in-house, meaning that everything from the start to finish in making the boards is done within his factory. This insures the very best quality, best technology, and best customer service every step along the way. And unlike many shaping rooms, Proctor’s factory is impeccably clean, from the showroom all the way back to the airbrush room. The factory boasts a special filtering system that filters all the harmful vapors and brings in fresh air into the workplace. He’s just as meticulous with the business aspect of his shaping career as he is with the design.

Honesty and true love for the art of shaping is what keeps Proctor’s factory running and flourishing. With the loving support of his wife, Charissa, the two have created a business built on principles that is sure to stand the test of time. For more information on Proctor and his boards, visit www.proctorsurf.com.

Shaper Spotlight: Wayne Rich
Words and Photo by Branden Aroyan

Soul shaper. Master craftsman. Wayne Rich started shaping surfboards in Hermosa Beach in the late 70‚s, a protégé of Bendiksen. After spending years of just watching, Wayne began to use the tools himself to be involved in the art of making a board go where he wants to take it.

The beginning: “When I was a little kid growing up, I had to become a junior lifeguard or my parents wouldn't let me surf. They made me do it. I hated it at first. ‘But, if you‚re going to go down to the beach and be able to be down there we have to know you‚re not going to drown'‚ said my parents. All the famous surfers were lifeguards, Dewy Weber, all the main surfers. You can see it when something weird goes on or somebody's hurt. The people who notice it right away and are helping are the ones who understand the ocean better. It's going to depend on the people who are aware to keep people from getting hurt. It's ironic; the ones getting hurt are usually the ones dropping in on all of us. It's become a world of a free for all with surf schools and beginners and this and that. Then you have the good people who put in their time over the years."

Lifestyle: I don't consider surfing a sport. It's more of an interaction between people and the ocean. It's a rush, it's a way to get intense a way to get mellow. If it's pumping and it's crowded and you get one through it adds to the reward factor. If you had perfect waves all day by yourself you wouldn’t have the same drive. You'd be so free it didn’t matter if you blew it you'd just get another. When everyone's watching you’ve got to perform and hold yourself in order."

Respect: "The levels of respect are gained and earned by how well you can do what you are doing and how you go about doing it. Being able to help someone, how you act, if you're doing right or wrong, it comes from putting yourself in the right place at the right time and how intense you can be. I’ve always wanted to be in the core group, a surfer first and then a shaper."

Shaping: "It starts with what you want. ‘Form Follows Function’, said Frank Lloyd Wright. What are you looking for? They trust me to shape something that will work for the way they want to surf. That comes down to variations that are extremely subtle. So subtle, most people can't figure it out when they try and dissect a board to rip off your shape. It might not be in the actual contour, could be in the foil or the volume of the shape or in the fulcrum where you set the rocker forward of where you're compressing cause that will allow the board to change its angle of attack and so that it performs in a different way than what people might perceive it to do when they look at it. So there's a lot of tricky stuff going on in surfboards. I’ve put 30 years into knowing this and it's blowing my mind how much there is to know. And fins are equally important. I’ve shaped about 200 different fins over the years and most didn’t work. It's through R&D when the most awesome parts of ideas are extracted and combined to where they are most effective. To take the chance and go through all the problems and money and time and frustrations together with riders is where it comes from. All the friends are doing this together and it’s working on these ideas that validates them.

The future: Looking at boats and airplane wings. Getting the board to flex and bounce back in certain areas while adjusting the rocker. The shape the template and the foil of the fins too are a whole other thing with a lot more room for technology and experimenting. There are lots of variations we can keep doing and have a lot of fun with it.

The man: 14 yrs sober, Aircraft design background, most recent contest at C-street, 5 winners were riding his boards.

“The underground Lives”

Shaper Spotlight: Gabriel Loyd
Words and Photos by Vincent Shay

First impressions are everything. Walking into Gabriel Loyd’s shaping room gave me a first impression that I will not forget for some time. Vivid blues and greens under fiberglass give his boards a life of their own. A living, breathing entity that almost begs to find that perfect wave on its own. No rider needed. Central Coast board shaper Gabriel Loyd is a surfer and has been all his life. Born and raised around surfing, his philosophy has always been centered on the joy of the ocean and the form of a wave as art. Not a particularly competitive surfer, Loyd would rather be known as one to give a wave than to take one. He is the son of legendary photographer and board shaper Aaron Loyd. He learned early on that quality and the final product is the most important component to the art of shaping. Every shape begins from a raw blank and ends with the final polishing. Gabriel does everything and enjoys being in control of every facet of his shapes. Learning every aspect of the final product is his goal.

“A lot of people don‚t know that I do everything! From shaping, to glassing, to doing my own airbrushing!” he said.
In Pismo Beach his shapes stand apart not only because of the quality of his boards, but his unique airbrushing. Each board is a piece of art that seems to breathe, but even more than that, the creation seems to have a soul.

Loyd learned from the best. He credits his development to working with his father who shapes for Al Merrick and PJ Wahl, local Central Coast shapers. Both role models have been pivotal mentors in not only his personal life, but also for his passion for shaping surfboards. “When I go into shops, I check out every shape. I truly believe Al Merrick designs are the best. The quality of the boards and consistency of the shapes are what I model my own shapes from.”

Equally important is the feedback he gets from surfers who regularly surf his shapes. Always evolving and learning, a shaper fine-tunes his art form. This is the destination of every shaper and Loyd is no different.
None of Loyd's boards are pre-shaped digitally. He believes in the art of finding the shape. Like most of the artists I have met, Loyd truly believes the perfect shape is already in the blank; it‚s just up to the shaper to find it. Not to say that Loyd is against computer shapes, he just wants to truly learn and hone the art of shaping before he starts to utilize the computer.

Loyd's specialty board is his 'Miss Piggy‚ model. Not just the average short board, but also more of a high-performance hybrid model. He believes that boards in general are getting shorter with increased width and more curvature in the templates, especially in California. This philosophy is what drives his board designs.
Loyd is very excited about the future. Creating a business and working with his father is his goal and his passion for the industry is driven through his dedication to the art of creating a quality surfboard design. Loyd believes in hard work and a 'never give up‚ attitude' Loyd is here to stay.

“I am a shaper, but I really want to be a ‘company.’ I don’t want to be just a ‘backyard shaper’! Everyone starts somewhere, but my goals are set very high.”

If you are interested in surfboards that ‘breathe’, check out Loyd Surfboards at Solutions in Pismo Beach, Shell Beach Surf Shop, and Azhiaziam in Los Osos. Loyd Surfboards also has an exclusive dealer in Cayucos at Cesmat Surf. You can contact Gabriel at gabrielloyd@hotmail.com or 441-5103.