Calling
all surfers.
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Don’t let greedy businessmen ruin your surfing.
Beware cheap / high profit imports.
The only way to make cheap Polyurethane foam and
Polyester resin boards is to cut corners.
Styrofoam and Epoxy resin are ideal for mass production
(as long as you don’t care about
the health of your employees) but performance is compromised.
What are the Professionals riding?
Polyurethane and Polyester boards made by enthusiastic
fellow surfers in friendly,
accessible factories where nothing is hidden.
Most of them even pay for their own boards so they can
go to the shaper of their choice.
You don’t have to be a pro.
The improved performance benefits everyone from
beginner upwards.
All shapers enjoy making custom boards and talking to
their customers.
Don’t miss out, talk to a shaper before you part with
your hard earned cash
and then really start to enjoy your surfing.
On the right is a list of all the companies that have
pledged support so far.
In the UK, 3 companies are responsible
for importing around 5000 surfboards a year,
which
is about the output of 5 reasonably sized workshops, employing 20 skilled
craftsmen.
Buy
a custom surfboard from a local shaper, a respected surfer who knows the breaks
that
you will be surfing on the bespoke surfboard he has especially designed for
you, to meet the
needs
of your environment and match your surfing ability.
If we
are not careful the shapers will die out, just as the big supermarkets have
taken
over, big business will have strangled the locals. There will be no young kids
coming up
through the ranks. Lots of
businesses have gone under already, if the trend continues
this will be another area of local
expertise lost overseas.
Surfing as a sport - Without the
technical abilities of the local shapers and glassers and sanders
and polishers and artists, the standard of British surfing in the future will
certainly surfer.
Buy a custom surfboard from a local shaper from across the country, not across
the world!
Manufacturers
If you are a manufacturer of custom surfboards in the
UK and would like to support,
the initial step is by completing the survey here, only 7 questions; it’ll only
take 2 mins.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=XhwiFFbru4CJtGteYPMbOw%3d%3d
The 46 or so companies listed have over 600 years combined experience in the
surfing industry.
We are currently waiting to hear from about 30 more, some have agreed verbally
but we need
to be able to contact you by email, otherwise administration is tedious. If we have missed your
name from the list or haven’t been contacted, please get in contact.
Our aims are to educate the public of the benefits of
buying a custom surfboard by means of a
lengthy advertising campaign in the surfing press and to promote discussions on
online shapers
forums. We propose to make decals that
you can apply to your lovingly made creations to
distinguish them from cheaply made imports that are not necessarily cheaper to
buy
We would like to hear any suggestions…
Surfers
Don’t miss out, talk to a shaper before you part with
your hard earned cash
and then really start to enjoy your surfing.
When we get the ball rolling, we will have more informative content, a better
designed website
and ways for you to show your support, meanwhile here is a facebook group that
Chris Harris has started:
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24964244820&ref=mf
Email: support@supportyourlocalshaper.org
Website: www.supportyourlocalshaper.org