Head Shaper:

Jeff “Doc” Lausch

Behind the Brand: Jeff “Doc” Lausch founded Surf Prescriptions in 1982 in Huntington Beach, CA. A shaper for more than 30 years, Lausch says his early influences go back beyond the thruster, a factor that still emanates from his body of work today. “My first shaping influences were Mike Diffenderfer and Dick Brewer when boards had one fin,” he says. “Then, when boards had two fins, it was Shaun Stussy.” Today, Surf Prescriptions is a worldwide brand with a deep stable of team riders, including Donavon Frankenreiter, Casey Brown, Travis Mellum, Timmy Turner, Ian Battrick, C.J. Kanuha, Chase Newsome, Tyler Gunther, and others. Through the years, Lausch has continued to push the limits of design. One of his most creative projects was the U.S.O., a finless board that appeared in the first installment of the Drive Thru films. Another out-of-the-box project: the ultra-thin Y2RSQ series, which employed a flat-deck displacement to make the boards extremely responsive. Even though the boards were fewer than 2 inches thick, their floatation was relatively unchanged and the design was proven successful by everyone from Brad Gerlach, who used the same technology to conquer 60-foot Cortes Bank, to Jay Larsen, who won the Rusty C5 Challenge at Lowers while riding one. With an eye on his influences from the past, Lausch has also worked closely with Frankenreiter on a series of single-fin projects that have been influential on the current industry-wide reexamination of “retro” technologies. One thing Lausch doesn’t experiment with, however, is his commitment to quality. “Surf Prescriptions is a complete surfboard manufacturing facility,” he says. “A raw, un-cut blank comes in and a complete, finely handcrafted surfboard goes out. We do every phase of construction in-house.”

About WRV'S Most Popular Models: “Sales for the NDR have been nuts for us. I think it’s because you can go 3 inches shorter than your regular shortboard and still catch waves easier. The nose is full but not stub, so you don’t look like your cheating. It’s got instant speed and fits 80 percent of what the majority of surfers surf.”

Shop Talk: “Feedback is really the only way you know if what you’re doing is on target or not. It has been a vital component to the success of Surf Rx, year in and year out.”

Tell us about the changes you’ve seen in recent years in the shaping realm, and how it has affected your craft. “I bought a shaping program and a laptop about five years ago. The next year I bought a shaping machine. It took about a year to get it down but, after that, I had all my designs in files and I have been dialing them ever since. The consistency in the ability to refine, create, and duplicate magic boards has become the norm. Everyone who gets my boards has benefited from this.”

How do you think surfboards and shaping/glassing boards will change in the next decade? “There are some amazing mold technologies out there, but to have a hand-crafted piece of art that fits you exactly where you are in your surfing life—who would want that to go away?”