A few years later I saw an article in Surfer about shapers and shaping boards. Before this I thought they magically appeared in the coolest shops in the world. Little did I know that these boards were built by extremely talented craftsmen. I wanted to do what they did, so I found a 2 foot by 6 foot, 2 inch thick piece hard foam insulation at my house. I grabbed a saw, yardstick, sandpaper and a s
oda. It never saw the water but I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I would shape. About 10 years later...
During a trip to Oahu, our car was broken into and my boards were stolen. When I returned to Orange County I kept saying I need new boards. A good friend in his SCPA voice said,”Why don’t you just make one”. My reply was, “OK”. His girlfriend showed up at my Tustin Ranch condo with four blanks. I went to Home Depot and bought a couple tools, borrowed a board and traced the outline and started to mow through the foam. The next day we took the blanks to Hydroglas in San Clemente and got the first Naka surfboards glassed. A couple days later there was a note taped to our door from the HOA talking about hazardous materials, dust everywhere, manufacturing and excessive noise. After that, I shaped all the Naka boards at Hydroglas’ shaping room. While shaping in Southern California, I was able to watch and get advice from many incredible shapers (Bob-O, Terry Senate, Matt Biolos, Mike Darakjian, Steve Boehne, Brad Basham, Peter and the list goes on). The boards were being ordered locally and also shipped to the East Coast and Japan. After having children, we decided to move back to the East Coast to be closer to family. While back home I continued to shape Naka surfboards and also production shaped for a couple local brands. Today...
I continue to shape and develop new concepts and ideas out of the Naka compound. The shapes I offer are proven vehicles of fun. Each board is made with you and your spot in mind. Naka Surfboards continues to evolve to match the progressive style of today’s surfer, but I will always stay true to my roots in surfing.