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.
