Head Shaper:

Tim Stamps

Behind the Brand: In an age where the Henry Ford manufacturing model has truly hit the surfboard design industry, Tim Stamps’ approach harkens back to an age of personalized shaper involvement. “I design and shape every board,” says Stamps. “We’re the real deal from start to finish. No smoke, no mirrors. No slick marketing campaign. Just foam dust, resin, and salt water—that’s what’s running through my veins. It’s all about making the best-performing, highest quality surfboard possible.” Founded in 1996, Stamps Surfboards was a dream that started when its founder and head shaper was exposed to the inner workings of shaper life at an early age. “I basically grew up in the back of Harbour Surfboards from about the age 12,” says Stamps. “I learned surfboard building from the bottom up from Rich Harbour and I went from shop grom to shaper.” It’s a title Stamps has been focused on ever since. “I’m in this for the long haul,” he says. “This is what I do. I don’t make surfboards because it’s the ‘in’ thing to do. I do it because it’s what I am.”

About Stamps' Most Popular Models: “My most popular types of boards are high-performance shortboards and all the ‘in-between-hybrid-performance-shorter-wider’ boards that I’ve been working on,” says Stamps. “These boards are just functional for so many types of waves and conditions, and they suit the variety of surfers and abilities that are out there.”

Shop Talk: “I think everything has its place, and that’s what has taken us where we are in design today. The pro-tour surfers, longboarders, retro surfers, freesurfers, and everything else—all this different surfing being done on all the varied equipment trickles down, morphs, tweaks, and eventually gets blended into something new, fresh, and refined.”

Tell us about the changes you’ve seen in recent years in the shaping realm, and how it has affected your craft. “I think the biggest changes have been with the development of the surfboard design CAD/CAM programs. Contrary to what many believe, these programs are difficult to use successfully, and especially difficult to master. You control every aspect of design and nothing can be overlooked. Changes and refinements are incremental and precise. I was once a devout hand-shaper, and I still respect the art and craft I learned and mastered, but now I am a firm believer in CAD as well.”

What’s the most important element to look for in a surfboard? “A complete design is the most important quality to have. In order for a board to be working at its best, all of the design elements must be working together—rocker, vee, fins, outline, contours, etc.”

How do you think surfboards and shaping/glassing boards will change in the next decade? “I think when you consider the price of materials, the price of labor, what the consumer is willing to pay for the end product, and how they expect it to perform, that not much will actually change.”