Custom Shaping is a huge part of what drives me. It formed me. It gifted me with the skills to interpret a surfer’s needs and craft something unique just for them that in many instances, my customers have experienced the most memorable waves of their lives on… it’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. 

It’s where I connect with my customers and I feel, produce my most fulfilling work by co- creating something unique with them. 

I apply a lifetime of surfing, designing, shaping, glassing, and sanding and to each custom order. 

There’s something that fires within me when I commence designing and then executing the shape for a customer. It starts with a phone call in which we cover a lot of ground and gather a snap shot of the person and their aspirations. A conversation yields so much more than an order form. We talk. I begin to understand and paint a picture of the person.  Their likes and dislikes, their favourite boards, recognising what has been successful and what has not. It guides my process by understanding personal preferences as well as experience, age, weight and fitness level. There’s subtle information I fish for and take notes on which I find is invaluable in informing my approach. . 

I have a lifetime of repeat customers. Our conversations are cumulative - every chat, every piece of feedback becomes another important input towards providing new magic for their surfing experience. Often times, it’s discussing a new board for an upcoming surf trip. I’m usually out the back on the tools. 

I prefer if we book a call together in advance because it matters to me. I want to give myself completely to the process without distraction. It can help to send me photos of existing boards. Providing me with as much information as possible not only connects us more as people, it narrows your unique briefs and increases the chance that we will hit the mark together in making the board of your life…

I really enjoy meeting my customers, many of whom have become friends over the years.
You can book a personal meeting at my workshop and we can discuss the finer points of the design in person. Some people like to incorporate this into part of a North Coast road trip. The same thing applies when it comes time to pick up that new magic board . Typical build time from brief to completion is three months. People keep coming back to Outer Island , they start with one , soon they have two or three, or thirty. One of  my long time customers has one hundred or so. 

The models represented on the website are a great starting point to give you an indication of what’s possible. As a custom shaper, I’m often melding many of the core elements in those different models to create a unique surfboard for you.

I’m excited to meet you and make the board of your life with you…

Text: 0438688377 and we can make a time to discuss your custom board