Interviewer: How did you start shaping?

Collin Brown:
I actually started shaping after buying my first surfboard from a shop. It was a machine-shaped custom board that was barely used with someone else's name written on the bottom. When I bought it and finally rode it, it was crap. I thought to myself I could've made two boards for the price of this.

I wanted to try out different shapes without having to pay too much. I was also curious to see how close I could get my hand shapes to really expensive machine made boards. I wanted to see what the differences were between the board I made and a $1k board that was out of reach for me.

After a quick search online I found a place a couple hours north of me that sold foam blocks. I made the drive and scored three foam blocks for under the price of one new surfboard at a surf shop. I figured I had three opportunities to make a board that I’d be happy with.

Those first three boards were really tough because I had cheap equipment and no real system in place for how to go about sculpting shapes from those blocks. Looking back now I recognize how golden that period was for me. I didn't have a clue what was right and what was wrong and there wasn't anybody around to share best practices. I had no choice but to experiment and go with my gut through the process.

Those first three boards were built completely from the ground up. Nobody could tell me what was wrong so I kept going with what I had. The features that came through the strongest on those first handshapes became my signature once I put more time in and learned from more experienced shapers.