Category Archives: Shapers

Behind every great surfer is a board, and behind every great board is a shaper who understood what the wave required before the surfer even paddled out. Hawaiian surfboard shapers have driven more innovation in surfing than anywhere else on earth, and their work is inseparable from the history of the sport.

The shapers profiled here include Ben Aipa, the man credited with fathering modern performance surfing, Donald Takayama, whose longboard mastery set a standard that still holds, and Eric Arakawa, the quiet architect behind ten world champions. This series will keep growing as the shapers who shaped Hawaii deserve their full accounting.