I was born and raised in Atlantic Beach...
I started surfing when I was twelve years old and never looked back. I mainly surfed 18th street with my buddies Jason Venn, Andrew Foster, and Karina Petroni. The sandbars were a lot better back then, or so it seemed. The water stays warm all year, the waves are consistent and we fed off each others competitive drive.
I started shaping when I was fifteen with the help of east coast legend Dick "Rozo" Rosborough. Rozo has been shaping for over thirty years. In the 1960’s and 1970’s Rozo learned the art under the guidance of Dick Brewer in Hawaii. In a way, you could say the knowledge of one of the most influential shapers ever has been passed down to me.
The first board I shaped worked well and I actually made it to the finals in the Open division of a local ESA event. After that I knew creating handmade surfboards would always be a hobby of mine. Ever since then there has been endless progression of improvement. I have made boards for myself and my friends that each have their own qualities and characteristics that make them unique and one of a kind.
Growing up, we were always into riding different boards. From old 80's twin fins and quads to fishes, round tails, 70's single fins, longboards, you name it we rode it. I was always into the design and function of a surfboard. Andrew Foster and I would fix our own dings in his Mom's garage, stinking it up with resin, sanding everything by hand. Eventually we opened our own ding repair shop in Atlantic Beach under the name "Jay’s Ding Repiar." The business was a total success and my first step into the surfboard industry. Upstairs there was a shaping room and in my spare time I shaped boards.
At the time I was into surfing contests and riding the most high performance boards out there from Sharp Eyes to Al Merricks. Following in the foot steps of my good friend Jason Venn I won the ECC in 2003. After the win I decided to go pro and make a living off of my surfing. Training with Brad Gerlach out in Cali that summer, I started surfing WQS events. I was living my childhood dream of being a professional surfer. And along I was lucky enough to travel to places like Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cape Hatteras, California and the Canary Islands.
One of my friends I made along the way was Brian Szymanski, a surfing guru from Encinitas, California who's been surfing and building boards for over 25 years. I now work with Brian in his ding repair shop and learned even more about shaping from him. Brian has shaped for Al Merrick, Eberly, and Joel Tudor among others. I've been shaping for the past two years under his supervision and scrutiny.
It's going well, and I am keeping the stoke of surfing alive in the tradition of hand shaping custom boards here in America. Surfing is about having fun with your friends, de-stressing from the daily grind and enjoying nature. I am able help others with this and that is my mission.
