Board design and shaping have been a bone of contention in the surfing community over the last decade. But I see the biggest problem in that the surfer and his board are becoming more and more distant as design techniques progress. If we are to go back to the beginning, Hawaiians came together as a community in shaping and building a new surfboard. The finished board was a family treasure and its launching into the water was a community event. Even as materials changed and surfboard shaping became a business, surfers and shapers often stood together in the shaping room in a sort of refinement session where they communicated about the surfer's goal for the board.

The advent of the "almost shaped" blank saw shapers become "scrapers". Mass produced surfboards have brought down some prices, and surfers have lost some contact with their surfboards...that soul connection that inspired me to keep my surfboard in my bedroom so no harm would come to my precious possession. I fixed every ding as it happened and tried to keep it fresh for as long as possible. A new surfboard was like adopting a child. In my mind I gently whispered, "I'll take good care of you, baby."

Today, surfboards have become disposable, and even with attempts at creating more "green" surfboards, it's the attitude of surfers themselves that has changed. We really can't blame the industry for becoming more streamline and more profitable. In reality, it's surfers who own these companies and surfers who are using shaping machines and surfers who are buying up all this stuff. There's no avoiding progress and new technologies and such (and no real reason to), but we can try to stay true to the tradition that gave birth to our culture and art. We need to keep that attitude that surfing is an art first and that no matter where the board under your feet came from, it is the way you connect to the energy of the wave. That's the soul connection. Cherish it and nourish it. Don’t toss your old board. Fix it up. Give it to a kid. Donate it to a cause, and please fix your dings.