I have spent a little too much time making surfboards. It has been 11 years since I made my first board in my parent’s garage. Along with Santa Cruz shaper Carl Olsen, I managed to make something that float. Getting a job at shop just around the corner, Pearson Arrow, they let me have at in the polishing room, after a couple years sweeping up shaping rooms and taking out the trash. Fast Forward a few years and I end up on the North Shore of Oahu, living with fellow shaper Travis Reynolds. My plan to "Never sand again" fell through like a typical junkie when a friend put me in contact with Jeff Johnston and SurfLight Hawaii. The surfboards at SurfLight were constructed completely different than what I had been used to. More like a snowboard than a surfboard. Soon Johnston built a laminating room for polyester resin and my sanding of “normal boards” became my trade. After ending a year at SurfLight, with a short-lived desire to enter the food service industry, I got my foot in the door at Charlie Walker's All Surf Glassing. Honing my skills, Walker taught me the all the tricks. Working along side Walker and Brian King (the laminator), we glassed Erick Arakawa Designs. Making surfboards for Andy Irons, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, Parko, and just about every other professional surfer to pass through the North Shore over the next five years. In 2008 the Pro Bowl needed two boards to be signed by the players and auctioned off for charity, so I jumped on the opportunity. After a few preliminary sketches, I got the green light. I had Anthony Sherman and Joe Demarco shape a retro single fin gun for the AFC and NFC respectively. With unique glass jobs and some detailed resin work (and of course the signatures), the boards sold for over $4,000 each. We enjoyed a press conference, meeting the mayor, and shaking hands with some NFL players and cheerleaders. Today, I still spend time down at the shop, but every so slowly, easing myself into the world of CIRCUS and design.