Q: You’re following in your father’s footsteps. How much of your surfboard making knowledge comes from him?
Josh Martin: I would say at least 80 percent. I’m influenced by other shapers and riders, too.
Q: How would you describe the craft of surfboard shaping?
JM: It’s a mix of sculpture and art that’s functional. The art speaks for itself, but to mix that with the functional part of it, which is the idea that people use it in the ocean, that’s really satisfying. You need to be able to create something someone gets out there into the ocean with and enjoys.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the process of creating a surfboard?
JM: Having the person I’m building the surfboard for participate in the process. I can share a little bit of the design with them. I have them a part of that aspect. Not only that, but I get a little sense of their personality. Then they go out and ride and come back and let me know how it rides. The shaper-surfer relationship is probably my favorite part of it aside from the design.
Q: Do you have a favorite board?
JM: I have a lot of favorites, but one favorite I have I’m currently working on. My dad started it in 1942. There was no foam back then, and nature’s foam was balsa wood or redwood, or in Hawaii, it was koa. I was fortunate in that I was taught the traditional method of making boards from balsa wood. This particular board that I’m working on, it’s primo, light balsa wood. It’s hard to find wood that light. I chambered it, so it’s basically like an airplane wing. I built that specifically for someone to ride it. It will be fun to see that happen.
Q: What makes your boards better than other brands?
JM: I build every board by hand — custom. I’ll ask a customer where they like to surf, and that tells me what kind of wave they like to surf. Then I ask them what kind of wave they want to surf because they might not be in the right place for it. I also ask them what they weigh and what their athletic ability is. I try to make a surfboard that’s not only what they want, but that can actually achieve what they want to do. My boards aren’t necessarily any better than other custom-made boards, but they’re better than what you can get at a big retail store like Costco. They cost the same, but they are custom.
