Smorgasboarder_23_Feb_2016-s

CLOSEOUT: COLUMNS
in the end. This is the only way I can truly
guarantee that you will be on the receiving
end of my best work. Even the little pimply
faced shop jockey needs to be asking these
exact same questions if he’s going to play
perfect match with you and a new shooter.
When Dexter the little 80’s robot spits
out a compatibility report and the divider
disappears to reveal your new love you want
to see your dream girl not a walrus. So you
better hope they’ve been asking questions
and paying attention to the answers.
Otherwise its goodnight for you and the
walrus - enjoy your complimentary gifts on
the way out the door.
When I am the one giving you the inquisition
I want to know about everything. What you
ate for lunch, your theories on quantum
physics, your mothers maiden name, how
old you were when you stopped wetting the
bed… well not really but I do want answers.
Some of my more standard questions include
the following:
1. How old are you?
2. Where are you surfing?
3. What kinds of breaks?
4. How often are you surfing?
5. How long have you been surfing?
6. What are you riding mostly – right
now, this week?
7. How many boards are in your quiver?
8. Who shaped them?
9. Dimensions on all of them, or at least
your favorites?
10. Do you have a wide range in your
quiver or six 5’11 thrusters?
11. Are they heavy, light? Construction
methods? EPS, Epoxy etc.?
12. Which is your favourite, why? What
does it do best that you like?
13. Are you a top to bottom style surfer or
more down the line style?
14. Do you get low to your boards or do
you have a more upright stance?
There is a whole bunch more but you get the
idea for now. It’s about me trying to get a
sense of your personal “relative perception”
of the surfing experience and what it is you
want me to contribute to that experience.
“I QUESTION MY
CUSTOMERS LIKE A
WILD-EYED SPANISH
PRIEST DURING THE
INQUISITION.”
After we’ve talked about the old stuff in
your quiver it’s my turn. I will want to know
things like:
1. What type of board are you after?
2. How do you want it to surf?
3. Where will it fit wave range wise in
your quiver?
4. Are you planning on increasing or
reducing your quiver?
5. Are you just a one-board guy/girl?
6. If you are planning on getting more
boards shortly, particularly if they are
from me what boards are they?
7. What is your budget?
8. What types of characteristics are you
looking for in your board?
9. What is it you enjoy most in surfing?
Big turns? Speed runs?
10. What is it that this board is really
trying to give you in the water?
Again there is a multitude of others but this
is the basic idea. I look at myself as more
of an engineer than a shaper. I look at each
customer or order as an equation, a bunch
of variables that we are trying to create a
solution from. I look at those variables, the
desired outcome, I make sure you and I are
on the same page, then we move forward.
It’s easy after that, it’s just advanced
hydrodynamics.
Every customer that I cross paths with gets a
lesson on board design. The how and why of
what makes a board work. Which features
produce which result and how to identify
boards that will work in the future.
Why exactly your favourite boards from
the past worked and perhaps what they
likely had in common with each other.
The end goal is to help you the customer
make informed decisions and have real
and valuable input into your shapes. It’s a
win-win. Being able to walk into a shop
knowing at least in part what you’re after
makes board shopping in a retail setting
awesome. It makes calling up a shaper for
a custom order a super exciting experience.
If that is not currently the case for you then
this series of articles will hopefully help you
to change that. By the end of this you’ll all
be laying down your hard earned dollars for
new shooters. Hassling your local core board
store and thumbing the racks with optimism.
Next issue we are going to start with the
basics. We will start with some of the
bigger subjects but also some of the most
important ones, and… ready for it? The
Pendulum Effect… Yet another catchy
phrase that I just coined right now while I’m
typing. I am seriously on fire right now…
stay tuned.
Watch out next issue for some schooling on
the basics...
www.blackapachesurfboards.com
104
SMORGASBOARDER | SUMMER 2016