Shaper In Residence 002 - Ryan Conklin

Ryan Conklin's trajectory isn't one a career advisor would recommend.

He grew up in Flagler Beach, Florida, around a cast of talented oddballs. From technical aerial specialists like Rasta Robb and Ryan Huckabee, to stylish drifters like Saxon Wilson, Jake Loftus, and his brother Pat, his surfing education has been broad, but never conventional.

Since then he's lived in California, Australia, and Portugal's southwest coast. In Australia, his car conveniently broke down in the Lennox Head car park, so he spent the next three weeks living with unobstructed views of one of the country's best pointbreaks. Another time, he somehow ended up sleeping in caves in the middle of the Moroccan desert. We never asked how, or why.

Ever open to chance, he's recently let his circumstances be dictated by a partner who studies marine biology in Algarve, which keeps bringing him back to Portugal for stints each year. Fortunately for us.

We first crossed paths in Aljezur a few years ago. We stayed in touch here and there, and when Flatspell was released, Ryan reached out again and we ended up speaking of a possible collaboration.

Earlier this spring he rescued a Peugeot van from being recycled and drove it from Algarve to Lisbon. By the time he rolled into the city, the van's contents amounted to little more than a mattress, a pile of clothes, some towels, and a skateboard.

We hooked him up with a prototype of the wetsuit we're launching this fall, and he shaped and glassed a 7'0" single fin in our bay in under 24 hours. He then drove north to Figueira da Foz to collect the shaping tools he had left there on a previous trip, riding the board around Ericeira and Peniche along the way.

Ozzie Wright is not the type to fake enthusiasm for a board he doesn't like. Seen here holding one shaped by Ryan with a genuine smile.

He's been building boards since he was 12, and more often than not he's riding his own. We were particularly amazed at how fast he turned a chunky blank into a thing of beauty within an hour between our four blue walls.

Ryan's customer list has remained deliberately small but nameworthy. He takes over the Fairly Normal shaping bay this summer before we head off on our annual Euro Tour (more on that soon).

If you've been thinking about breaking up with your pop-out, or simply ordering something built around the way you surf, now's the window.

Come by to talk boards, or get in touch here.

Ryan's taking a limited amount of orders now.