If a surfboard shaper builds a global empire, does that make him a baby-blue-collar worker?
Wanna talk surfboards? Of course you do! Let me introduce you to my friend and world renowned shaper, Marcio Zouvi.
Born and bred on the not-so-poor side of Rio de Janeiro, Marcio was a studious little bugger with grand aspirations. So much so that, as a young man, he left his beloved homeland to attend university in America’s finest city — San Diego, California.
While studying to become a computer engineer, Marcio couldn’t fight the pangs of nostalgia for his childhood passion. His heart lied in surfing, his hands in foam dust.
You see, as a young boy, Marcio would not only surf but also salvage dilapidated longboards. He’d strip their glass and grab a hacksaw and create art!
“Those boards were rough,” Marcio admitted. “They were so hard to shape because the foam was bad and I didn’t have the right tools, but that’s how I started building boards. I was just a kid.”
While attending university, Marcio picked up side jobs as a sander, glasser, and ding repair guy. It helped pay the bills and, more importantly, it was better than pushing punch cards.
“Back then, we were using those stupid punch sheets to run computer programs.” Marcio explained. “At that point I didn’t know how far or how fast computers would develop. If I did, maybe I would have stayed in school. But here I am.”
Just two years into his degree, Marcio called it quits to start building surfboards full-time. Sharp Eye Surfboards was founded in 1992, and in just about a quarter-century, Marcio has built a small empire.
“We’re not one of the top surfboard sellers,” Marcio said. “But we do have significant global recognition.”
As of now, Sharp eye is licensed in Australia, Brazil, Spain and Peru. Including the American factory, that’s four different continents with Sharp Eye production teams. Marcio said these licensees help him design superior surfboards.
“I develop all the models, but oftentimes guys from different regions will tweak them slightly to suit their local conditions. This happened recently with some of our Australian shapers. They changed a certain aspect of one of our models and it had such a positive impact that we now make all the boards in that fashion.”
With some of the most performance-minded boards in the sport, it makes sense that Filipe Toledo would fly under the Sharp Eye banner. Widely regarded as the best aerialist and small-wave surfer in the world, Filipe came to Marcio with lofty aspirations.
“Filipe is so innately good at airs,” Marcio said. “It’s just very natural for him. We built the Holy Toledo model with airs in mind, but learned pretty quickly that it wasn’t helping him win heats. Most CT events are held in pretty good surf, so this flatter, wider outline was impeding his ability to get the board on rail. Once he rode that OK to victory at Snapper in 2015, everything changed.
The OK model, designed for fellow team rider Oliver Kurtz, has a slim figure and with plenty of curve. It’s designed to fit turns in the pocket of steep, punchy surf. Filipe quickly fell in love.
“The way he could bury the rail was amazing. If you look back two, three years ago, Filipe was like a whole different surfer. Granted, he’s put in a lot of hard work over that time to improve his strength and technique, but the board change has helped his rail game immensely,” Marcio stated.
Then there’s Filipe’s newest model, #77 — the name of which derives from Toledo’s WSL jersey number.
“The 77 is basically a mix between the Holy Toledo and OK,” Marcio explained. “It seems to be the perfect combination for his style of surfing. It’s got plenty of rocker.”
“But what about the average surfer?” I asked. “Would most guys even be able to ride one of these things, or would they just sink?”
“Well, the stock dimensions are definitely not the same as Filipe’s,” Marcio told me. “Typically we sell beefier versions to the general public, because most people wouldn’t have much fun on a board as chippy as Fil’s. That said, people seem lost when it comes to buying a surfboard nowadays. Oftentimes they ask, ‘can I get an epoxy with 30 liters?’, and I’m just like… ’30 liters in what model? What about the width, the thickness?’ People get caught up on trivial aspects of board design.”
Marcio continued:
“Board construction is a perfect example. Construction is important, yes, but design comes first. You hear guys talking like ‘Oh my god, this epoxy stringerless blah blah blah’ — it doesn’t matter. You design a board and then choose the construction. We can do epoxy or anything but that’s not what makes the board go. People need to understand that design is primary.”
But mainstream surfboard misconceptions isn’t the only concept Marcio grapples with. As a fan of surfing, Marcio loves to see passion and progression toward the future of the sport. Unfortunately, he believes there’s been a major decline in American youth surfing.
“Kids don’t want to surf today, not competitively at least. Even my son, you know, he likes to surf, but he likes soccer better. Most kids around here just want to surf for fun, which means fishes and longboards. That’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but it’s completely different from progressive or competitive surfing. I think we’re a bit unbalanced nowadays between surfing as a sport and a hobby/lifestyle. In order for surfing to thrive, those things need to be balanced.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
“Well, I think it’s because nobody is coming in with exciting design ideas,” Marcio replied. “I want to see more young shapers trying to reinvent high performance surfboards, but nobody seems to do that, at least not around here. Maybe it’s because America is such a bad place to be a shaper, economically speaking. All the restrictions in California make it nearly impossible to compete with foreign manufacturers.”
So yeah, Marcio’s got some gripes, but it’s important to take his cynicism with a grain of salt. When you get down to it, Marcio’s disappointment comes from a place of love — love for surfing, love for shaping, and the hope that both will continue to progress long after his last hacksaw swipe.
Until then, well, at least he’s got Filipe.
I think every surfer should have to make one board from start to finish themselves. Then customers would get perspective and would be willing to pay $1,000 per board. It’s hard as shit to make a board and it’s probably going to be a turd.
Imagine then what the Great Pacific Garbage Patch would look like.
Marcio sounds like a grumpy old fart crybaby.
Where’s the quote about Hayden being a one hit wonder / internet marketing whiz/ flash in the pan that you deleted from the first installment of this interview a few weeks ago? Whose sack shriveled first fearing the fallout? Yours or Marcios?
I’d love to hear the story about how Filipe went from Firewire to SharpEye.
I don’t know what it is, but I already like it.
Fuck, that’s a good one…I’ll just say there’s a reason Daddy-‘ledo isn’t my favorite person.
Let’s see, Mr Toledo pulls some corporate or back stabbing maneuvering on the most corporate maneuvering back stabbing company ever in the surf industry. My Hero Fack Firetard
I’m surprised Kelly hasn’t thrown shade yet, something like “#itsnoto< to name your model OK! Got it? Okay.”
coming soon
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The struggle is certainly real with surfboard production here in Southern California. Not to take away from all the hard work and dedication of Marcio (or any of the other many renowned shapers over the years), but correct me if I’m wrong in that since the introduction of the CNC machine to the surfboard industry, no one part of surfboard production has become more streamlined and user-friendly. On the other hand the glassers, particularly laminators, jobs have become increasingly more difficult (different foam, different materials, epoxy, carbon fiber, higher quality demands, etc.) while wages have basically stagnated over the past 20 years. Then you factor in that most of these manufacturers are now hiring their workers as independent contractors (last I checked, there isn’t a license one can obtain to become a surfboard manufacturing “contractor”) because the profit margins aren’t there to actually legally employ the workers. There is a very short, shitty end to this handful of sticks. Make no mistake, your favorite shaper isn’t holding it
sounds like you have the key to disrupt the system
Wouldn’t that be a feel good story for the books! Unfortunately it’s not that simple, and there doesn’t seem to be a solution in sight. The only foreseeable circumstance would be if the government brings the hammer down on all these businesses that are (illegally) 1099ing their workers. Personally, the surfboard industry could use a stern rude-awakening in my opinion.
You mean like when Clark Foam went under? Someone should try to get Laminators to unionize. The industry is large enough and there is plenty of precedent.
There was talk of this in 2006…but half the old guys hate everyone, the other half hates the new guys and transplants that the industry depends on (and non-surfer, first-generation immigrant guys who actually do great work). Add in that some of the corporate brands (hint: SB and Carlsbad) started to pay hourly and give benefits to select employees or those that made it through lay-offs, and people lost interest as they tried to stay afloat or land new gigs. Keeping in mind that most surfers are rabidly independent, don’t interact well with people in general (much less each other), and inter-industry job movement and the whole thing just went flat, mainstaying precarious glass’n’sand employment from Oceanside to Imperial Beach.
But yeah, wages are literally what they were then unless you’re doing tech carbon and vacuum stuff in a garage shop. There’s actually a margin in the really fucking good high-end, one-off stuff, but few have the quality or clientele to live decently from it.
I chronologically fell somewhere in between the old guys that hate everyone and the other guys that hate newcomers and transplants. You’re absolutely right about the types of disgruntled humans that inhabit surfboard factories. I always used to wonder why laminators particularly always seem so chapped. I’ve worked my way up in surfboard factories for close to half my life now (I’m 32), and my dad has been laminating since 88′. These days it just feels like we’re killing our selves to live. My dad is probably going to have to work until the day he dies just so he can maintain his bills and pay his $1600 a month mortgage. Nothing like devoting almost 30 years to an occupation that gives little to no hope of one day being able to actually retire.
Thanks for making my surfboards.
One of my favorite boards came from this man. That being said, I know none of you give a shit.