Head Shaper:

Matt Kechele

Behind the Brand: Over the course of his professional surfing and shaping careers, Matt Kechele has played a vital role in Florida’s rise as a surf superpower. As a competitor, he spent five seasons on the World Tour. And as an innovator, he was one of the main test pilots during the early years of the aerial movement. Kechele, who began building boards at the age of 13, credits Greg Loehr, Richard Munson, and Ed Leasure as his major influences when it came to his interests in the shaping room. Under Leasure’s tutelage, Kechele began professionally designing at Quiet Flight when he was at home between Tour stops during the early-’80s, before he launched his own business in 1983. It was during this era that Kechele first began to work with Kelly Slater who, as a teen, smashed nearly every amateur record in the books and rode to a third-place finish at the World Contest on Kechele’s designs. Today, at his home base in Melbourne Beach, Florida, Kechele remains extremely committed to his business, taking a hands-on approach to shaping, designing, and working with his clients and team riders. “I refer to my experience from my long pro and shaping careers as Kechnology,” he says. “And I encourage my riders to take advantage of what I’ve learned.”

About Kechele's Most Popular Models: “The Performance Module and Squish designs are my most popular at the moment. The Squish is a really lively board. It’s a mix between a standard squash and a fish, with more foam, more tail, more width, a lower rocker, and a vee running off the tail block.”

Shop Talk: “I appreciate team riders’ and customers’ direct, honest feedback. I also enjoy when I’m able to get to the magic on my first attempt in making a custom board for a rider or customer.”

How do you think surfboards and shaping/glassing boards will change in the next decade? “Technology hasn’t gotten us as far as you would think. Sure, there are shaping refinements that have occurred with shaping machines. But as far as consistently putting out great-riding boards time and time again, poly is still prevailing. I hope to see some new, unbreakable foam that rides as good as poly, so perhaps revisiting honeycomb or structured inner-core boards will help. But I’m sorry—epoxy Styrofoam is still missing the mark! Just look at the used board racks.”

What project are you and you customers having the most fun with right now? “The four-fin designs and all the tail variations we’re working on. I’ve been shaping and riding bat-tail quads from as early as 1983. Now, with all the tail variations and bottom contours, the quads are going very well for many of my happy customers.”

What trend would you like to see continue? “The interest in quads and wider boards. It’s what the majority of everyday surfers should be riding for complete enjoyment and to stay fulfilled. ‘The Fun Factor’ is the key element to everyone’s surfing.”