I’d done some design work with John Price when I was riding for the Surfboards Hawaii surf team; we worked on a noserider together. But the first board I shaped I think was a 7'6". I called it The Shoe. It had this hyper kick in the nose, like an elf shoe or something.
I just really wanted to make my own boards and ride them. I was a craftsman, and felt I was good with my hands, so it felt natural.
That’s all driven by the surfers themselves and our surf team. I’m just trying to accommodate the level of surfing as it progressed over the years. Basically, I had to put my own ideas aside and focus on what I think will work for them. The team is what has driven everything.
Dick Brewer was my inspiration. He was so innovative with his mini-guns, and his use of different equipment, planers, etc.
Kelly and I have established a friendship, and to me that’s what’s important. Obviously his being on the team has been essential in the growth of Channel Islands Surfboards as a brand, but it’s my personal relationship that’s been the most rewarding.
Yes, no question about it. He’s taken me way beyond anywhere I thought I would ever go.
I think probably the board he won that early Trestles event on—1990, I think—the one with the colored orange panels. That board has always just stood out to me.
Pro surfers’ input will continue to be more and more influential in where we go in the future. Now with the use of shaping machines and designing on the computer, things are changing. I’m not saying shapers will disappear, but certain interested surfers will play a more active and creative role.
Founder & Shaper: Al Merrick
Year started shaping: 1969
