Proctor Surfboards
Shaper/owner Todd Proctor, 805/658-7659.
Shaping experience: 15 years.
Early mentors: Casey McCrystal. “I brought some boards to him to get glassed,” recalled Proctor. “I thought I’d get ridiculed but he offered me a job. I was stoked!”
Favorite board to ride: 6’-1”, 18 ¼”, 2 ¾”. “I call it the SR72,” he said. “I used to be into military stuff, and the SR71, a spy plane at one time was the fastest plane in the world.”
Favorite surfing era: “I like them all,” he said. “Cool memories of the Curren era. Just when I was a grom traveling, 12 to 18 years old before responsibilities took over.”

Comstock Surfboards
Shaper/owner Bob Comstock, 805/340-0125.
Shaping: experience: “17 long years.”
Early mentors: Jeff Bushman, Spencer Kellog, Timmy Reser and Allen Main.
Favorite board to ride: 6’-5” short board, squash, single to double concave thruster.
Favorite surfing era: “I liked the Lopez, Bertlemen years,” says Comstock. “Super Sessions is one of my favorite movies.”
New for 2006: “Materials. Start using more epoxy,” he said. “Everything has been the same for so long.”

Point Blanks
Shaper/owner Fletcher Chouinard, 805/641-9428.
Shaping experience: 13 years.
Early mentors: Steve Walden and Dave Parmenter.
Inspiration: “I want to create boards that make other people better surfers,” said Chouinard. “To take them places on waves they didn’t think they could get to.”
Favorite board to ride: 6’-0”, 19”, 2 ¼’, not quite a hybrid with a shallow swallow. A board that has a lot of down the line speed.
Favorite surfing era: “I like the lightening bolt era,” said Chouinard. “That was the most stylish surfing.”
New for 2006: “I’m pretty stoked on skaty boards lately,” he said. “We’ve had a run of lousy surf for a while.”

Roberts Surfboards
Shaper/owner Robert Weiner, 805/658-6855.
Shaping experience: 11 years.
Early mentors: George Reber, Casey McCrystal, Al Merrick and Ben Aipa.
Inspiration: “My love for surfing,” said Weiner. “Ever since I was a kid. Everyday it’s surf, surf, surf.”
Favorite board to ride: 6’-6”, 19 ¼”, 2 ½”, squash with moderate rocker, full concave, single with inverted double.
Favorite surfing era: “The future,” he said. “Where the kids are going is exciting. It blows my mind.”
New for 2006: “I’m modifying my main model, the SB4,” he said. “I’m working on a new model called a Fat Cat. It’s a fish with a squash. I call it that because it eats fish for lunch. It has more release off the top.”

Yater Surfboards
Shapers/owners Renny and Lauran Yater, 805/966-2006.
Shaping experience: Renny for 45 years, Lauran for 27 years.
Early mentors: “It starts with my dad,” said the younger Yater. Dale Velzy, Bob Duncan, “I learned a lot of my tricks from him,” said Lauran. Marc Andrieni, Bob Krause, Bruce Fowler, David Pu’u, Tim Bowler, and George Greenough. “He was huge in the fin department,” he said.
Inspiration: “It’s fun to see someone get a good ride on a board you made,” he said. “It’s fun to get one for you.”
Favorite board to ride: 8’-11” gun.
Favorite Surfing era: “As far back as you can go because there was less people,” he said. “It was crowded when I started, but there was still less people. 1977-78 was the most fun time to be a surfer. I had to take nine classes my last semester of high school just to graduate.”
New for 2006: “Going back to shorter stuff using concaves,” said Yater. We’re also doing a noserider that is a high performance longboard, and a California gun, an 8’-0’’.

Channel Islands Surfboards
Shaper/owner Al Merrick, 805/963-2678.
Shaping experience: 37 years
Early mentors: Merrick is pretty much self-taught.
Inspiration: “I’m constantly trying to look for that elusive thing that makes magic boards,” said Merrick. “Being able to replicate really good boards, and making boards that will accommodate surfers and the imaginations of some of these guys. Shaping boards for the pros is always a challenge.”
Favorite surfing era: “The 80’s when we had the local team workouts. It was energetic and lots of fun,” he said. “Traveling, surfing and making boards for Tommy and the same with Kelly in the 90’s. They all have their special memories.”
New for 2006: Coming up with new designs that stimulate Merrick. He’s also tooling with tow boards and stand-up paddleboards.

JHR Surfboards
Shaper/owner John Roddenberry, 805/684-4332.
Shaping experience: 15 years
Early mentors: “When I first started Hamish Graham was really cool to me,” said Roddenberry. “He was one of the few guys that gave me some pointers.”
Favorite board to ride: 6’-3”, 18 ½”, 2 ¼” squash.
Favorite surfing era: “Right now. It doesn’t get any better except for the crowds,” said Roddenberry. “I like what’s going on right now.”
New for 2006: “Constantly trying to refine my short board designs, and upgrading them with my team guys I’m working with,” he said. “Being more consistent.”

Walden Surfboards
Shaper/owner Steve Walden, 805/653-1717.
Shaping experience: 42 years.
Early mentors: Harris Kawata, Bob Bolin in the 60’s.
Inspiration: “In the early going it was to make good boards for myself,” said Walden. “Later on it was making good boards for friends and team riders.”
Favorite surfing era: “Living at Rocky Point in the 70’s,” he said. “Surfing three or four times a day with my shaping room and factory in the backyard.”
New for 2006: “Shaping and designing carbon fiber, hollow and epoxy boards,” he said. New designs with weighting and flexing applications. To keep it fun, new and unique.”

Allan Gibbons Custom Designs
Shaper/owner Allan Gibbons, www.allangibbons.com.
Shaping experience: 28 years.
Early mentors: Al Merrick. “Al’s really good at quantifying the intangibles about a surfboard,” said Gibbons.
Inspiration: “I like to work with my hands,” he said.
Favorite surfing era: “The early 80,” says Gibbons, “Because of the change to twin fins and thrusters.”
New for 2006: “No foam,” he said. “It’s hard to say. Surf techs are going to make a lot of sales. Styrofoam? Epoxy? It’s a radical shift, a huge question mark.”

Wayne Rich Surfboards
Shaper Wayne Rich, 805/252-0728.
Shaping experience: 27 years.
Early mentors: Dane Dendiksen, Donald Takayama, Bob Manville, Jeff Weidner, Dewey Weber and Mike Geib.
Favorite board to ride: 6’-8” big guy tri-fin, a 20” wide geriatric short board. His current favorite longboard shape is the Pro Mod extreme longboard, 9’-0”, 18”, 22”, 13 ¾”, 2 7/8”. It has major tunnel bottom, double barrel concave and 13 to 14 lbs. It has super radical rocker in the tail and low volume foam in the rails. “It has super good speed with the ability to move up the face,” said Rich.
Favorite surfing era: “Mid to late 70’s, I’m a single fin guy, barrel riding, the beginning of roundhouse cutbacks” he said. “I try to carry a lot of 70’s feel in my longboards.”

Rich Reid
shaper Channel Islands Surfboards, 805/963-2678.
Shaping experience: 37 years.
Early mentors: Lloyd Gist, Al Merrick. “Al has always been my biggest mentor,” said Reid.
Inspiration: “I love the ocean,” he said. “I’ve been on it since I was one.”
Favorite board to ride: 8’-2” fun shape thruster.
Favorite surfing era: Mid 70’s to early 80’s, “not quite as crowded back then,” he said.
New for 2006: “The foam thing with Clark is interesting,” he said. “There will be more epoxy boards because of the environment, but the industry is too big for foam to go away.”

Surf Country
Designer/owner Doug Yartz Jr., 805/683-4450.
Shaping experience: 16 years.
Early mentors: Dan Wazniak, Bob Krause.
Inspiration: “I figured I’d be doing this the rest of my life,” said Yartz. “I wanted to make things others weren’t making.”
Favorite board to ride: The Grouper for its versatility. 6’-0”, 20 ½”, 17 ¼”, 16 ¼”. “The tail is the most unique part of this board,” said Yartz.
Favorite surfing era: 1979-1984. “It was the experimental phase,” he said.
New for 2006: “More acceptedness,” he said. “Today there’s so many alternative boards to ride. You’re not ostracized for riding anything but a 6’-2” three fin.”

PJ Wahl Surfboards
Shaper/owner PJ Wahl, 805/489-4942.
Shaping experience: 37 years.
Early mentors: “Kent Smith early on,” said Wahl. “There wasn’t a lot of shapers on the central coast back then.”
Inspiration: “I love surfing,” he said. “In the 70’s it was travel. I surfed from the Canadian coast to Panama.”
Favorite board to ride: A 7’-0” all-around board.
Favorite surfing era: “In the 70’s it was the discovery, places no one had surfed before,” he said. “In the 90’s, everything became refined.”
New for 2006: “It depends on what happens to the industry,” he said.

Shane Stoneman Surfboards
Shaper/owner Shane Stoneman, 805/471-9367.
Shaping experience: 7 years.
Early mentors: Junior Beck, Al Dove, Craig Comen and Greg Mungall. “Al Merrick, any time I spent with him, that guy just exuded a Zen and focus that amazed everyone around his immediate zone,” said Stoneman.
Inspiration: “To appease and satiate my customers,” said Stoneman. “Because of them my quiver has spanned from fish to funboard, longboard to kneeboard. It’s helped me become a better shaper because I’m not afraid to dig a rail on a new design and run back to the drawing board.”
Favorite board to ride: “I really do ride everything,” he said. Everything from a twin fin to a 6’5” three fin to a 7’4” pin.
Favorite surfing era: “I am definitely a product of the old school 80’s,” he said. “Curren, Carroll, Occy, Cram…but I’d say my favorite era is now. Never before have all the chapters been so perfectly represented, balanced and executed. There is a maturation of technique and style in the everyman surfer.”
New for 2006: “Patience with myself and my fellow industrymen as we ride out this wave of change,” he said.

Progressive Surfboards
Shaper/owner Dave Johnson, 805/967-1340.
Shaping experience: 38 years.
Early mentors: “Mostly, I taught myself and from Phil Becker,” said Johnson. “He had the best work ethic of any shaper.”
Inspiration: “When there’s a swell pumping,” he said, “and people call and tell me how good my boards work. Seeing my Progressive label on a kid’s board screaming down the line.”
Favorite board: A 6’-10” high performance hybrid. “It has a little flotation and it’s super fast,” he said. “It’s a little bit narrower than the normal hybrids. I want to call it ‘Forever Young.’”
Favorite surfing era: “The modern era,” he said. “The equipment is so much better.”
New for 2006: “The sky’s the limit for what people want,” he said. “A fish to a single fin to longboards.”

Loyd Surfboards
Shaper/owner Gabriel Loyd, 805/441-5103.
Shaping experience: 18 months.
Early mentors: “My dad Aaron, PJ Wahl and Al Merrick…It takes a lot to be a good shaper and a good business man,” says Loyd.
Inspiration: “My love for surfing,” he said. “I’m stoked to be shaping for the kids.”
Favorite board to ride: For California, he prefers swallow tails, 6’-2”, 19 inches wide, and a hybrid fish with lower rocker, rounded nose and single to double concave through the bottom.
Favorite surfing era: “Right now,” says Loyd. “I’m stoked on the progression of the sport, the tow-in, the new tech. It’s cool to see how insane the kids get.”
New for 2006: A lot more grom boards, and to work with what’s best for around here.

Beatty Products
Designer/owner Clyde Beatty, 805/965-3180.
Shaping experience: 36 years.
Early mentors: Mike Perry, George Greenough, Bob McTavish.
Inspiration: “At the time I couldn’t get the boards I wanted made,” said Beatty. “I was into short boards, not 8’-4” guns.”
Favorite board to ride: Tiger fish, 6’-3”, 20 ¾”, medium thickness.
Favorite surfing era: “I’m enjoying what’s going on now,” he said. “I appreciate every era though, Nat Young, Tom Curren. I think Jeff Hackman’s surfing in Cosmic Children on a single fin was amazing.”
New for 2006: Referring to Clark Foam he said, “Everything has changed. The book has been thrown out. More than just shapes, it’s going to be materials.”

J7 Surfboards
Shaper/owner Jason Feist, 805/899-3864.
Shaping experience: 7 years.
Early mentors: Jeff Bushman, Mike Lasorda, Marcio Zovi.
Inspiration: “I admire progressive surfing,” said Feist. “I love working with my hands, the interaction between art and athlete.”
Favorite board to ride: 6’-3” round pin with real moderate rocker.
Favorite surfing era: Mid 80’s to mid 90’s. “A lot of change in the modern short board,” he said. “It was a big window for me, but now is incredible.”
New for 2006: “Moving forward from Clark Foam,” he said. “It broke up a huge monopoly. It will be positive for the environment and for design.”