Head Shaper:

Todd Proctor

Behind the Brand:Todd Proctor started Proctor Surfboards in 1992 with the primary focus on the custom approach to surfboard design. “If I had to choose one thing as my greatest claim to fame,” he says, “it’s that at Proctor Surfboards, every surfer is treated with the same level of respect and attention, whether you are a grom getting your first board, a Pipeline specialist, a WCT elite competitor, or a weekend warrior. Attention to the individual surfer, which is a two-fold process, begins with asking the right questions and listening, then building the board that is going to best take my clients in the direction they want to go. Also, putting in the necessary time with each board is key. You never want to sacrifice by rushing. Every surfer, every board is as important as the next.”

Proctor—who started shaping in a shack behind his grandfather’s house in the early-’90s before …Lost’s Matt Biolos plugged him into the heart of San Clemente’s “shapers alley”—says he doesn’t believe in engineered obsolescence. “I use premium materials and strive to be a craftsman with impeccable technique,” he says. “These are simple principles and the trademarks that have seen my company grow exponentially. There are so many different types of surfers from locations all over the world ordering boards from us. And to be able to make each board unique, special, and dialed to the particular waves they are surfing, helps them push to the next level…man, that’s what gets me pumped.”

About Proctor's Most Popular Models: “Go custom,” Proctor says. “Seventy-percent of our production numbers are from handmade, custom, alternate-technology boards that we build from high-grade composites. These things have insane flex characteristics, last five times longer than a traditional poly-board, keep their life and spring three to five times longer and are made from green technologies that are recycled as well as recyclable. We have a history of building custom boards for almost 20 years, and we’ve steadily grown mostly by word of mouth and repeat customers.”

Shop Talk: “Boards are getting faster and more responsive. Materials are changing, making for higher performance and increased longevity. Today, board designs are as vast as ocean and as varied as its many faces, which is just as it ought to be since there are so many different types of surfers and so many different types of waves out there.”

When a new customer comes to you for a custom shape, what kind of questions do you ask to ensure you’ll make them what they’re looking for? “I get their height, weight, age, experience, how long they’ve been surfing, how often they get to surf, the type of waves they most commonly surf, and the direction they want to go. I find out if they want to do big, arcing rail-cutbacks, or airs, or both. Or if they just want something cruisy and fast. Then we go off the basic dimensions of their typical ‘normal’ board for when the waves are good and shoulder-high to overhead. This helps me figure out how to build off of what they currently know. After that, the goal is to make it better so it takes them to every place on the wave they envision going.”