Fineline Surfboards

Shaper: Brian Hilbers

Location: Los Angeles, CA

About: In this modern world, some activities become more than a sport or an escape; they are a necessity to finding your balance and to putting the pressures of everyday life into perspective.

In spite of the commercialization, exploitation, and all the other “tions” you can think of, surfing remains an individual’s path, on which the only goals that exist are the goals that you set for yourself- outside of the competition scene, surfing remains as one of the last truly subjective ways of having fun.

For thirty years I’ve made a living shaping surfboards for people that see surfing in this same light. I might shape thirty boards in a week, but I NEVER forget that each is for someone who’s only getting one of ‘em, maybe the only board they ride for a year or more. I’m dedicated to maintaining your right to ride what you feel like, and not just what current trends put on the rack.

EVERY board that I’ve ever shaped is catalogued in a book with umpteen different specifications- if you give me an old serial number, I’ll know exactly what I shaped, and why I went there.

Hundreds of surfers have feedback lines with me going back as long as twenty years.

Feedback is the essence of good shaping- not only do people figure out new ways to do things, but the very subjective nature of surfing can mean that anyone’s needs can change over time according to how they want to ride a wave- the chances are really good that you aren’t riding the same design that you had in, say, 1998, because your personal goals in your surfing have changed over time.