There has been plenty talk about shapers and the soul that goes into shaping and crafting a surfboard.  Now days we have surf media, both in print and online.  What about the soul the goes into what we see and read or view in the surf media?

 

This past week I received a phone call from someone at Surfline, the online surf web site. I'm told they are doing one of their Shapers Alley features on Ventura County and want to take some pictures and do a short interview with me for the feature.  I oblige and set up a time the following day to meet and do the short interview.

 

I'd had read a couple of the Shapers Alley features in the past so thought I'd go check them out and get an idea of what questions might be asked to get an idea of what to say.  To my surprise the Ventura County feature was already published, up and online for their readership.

 

Though Blinky, my founding partner at William Dennis was mentioned in the cover story  he did not have an entry in the shapers section, nor a number of other established shapers from the area including my self at that point.

 

Blinky and I have been making surfboards in Ventura longer than anyone by a long shot.  How is it that a publication can totally miss that, print a feature and make it look like we don't even exist to the out side world? Is it because they need to get something in print by a certain time and just can't get to everyone? Or is it because they just don't take the time and make the effort to get things right from the beginning?

 

When I make a surf board I put my heart into it. All my knowledge, experience, ability, research and even my history goes into every board I make. It's the effort, all the effort from our early beginnings that is most likely what we in surfing have come to call soul.

 

The surf media isn't new, though the online versions are some what young. Even still, the surf media is pretty much the representative of all things surfing to the surfing and non surfing world. Because of that it is important for what is published to the world be put forward with all the knowledge, ability, research and effort available.

 

Possibly Surfline will up date the shaper entries with the guys they unfortunately missed. The problem is... the damage has already been done. The feature has already been published and if it hasn't already, it will soon drop off the Surfline home page and will then be an old story.  Currently the piece has  received a little over 28,000 views. The Santa Barbara Shapers Ally feature was published over a year ago in June 2012 and has only about 10,000 more views than the current Ventura feature... Catch my drift?

 

D.R.  

 





 

Wipeout!