Phoresia.org

It’s been two years since I first contacted Paul Jensen for an interview. Paul’s name is well known amongst the readers of Swaylocks.com. He is also well known for his incredible hollow wooden surfboards. However, to the mainstream surf media Paul is probably just another backyard shaper. That is fine with him.

There are a few reasons why I wanted to interview Paul for a second time. First off, there’s obviously been a lot of change in the surfboard manufacturing world in the last two years. From the pop-out hordes to the renaissance of boutique shapers, and of course to the ever growing popularity of the wood surfboard, the list of available equipment keeps growing. But Paul does not build surfboards for a living —or for wall hanging for that matter. He builds surfboards for surfing.

We find Paul to be an inspiration amongst the flotsam and jetsam that is today’s capitalist world. Building something with your own hands, no matter what it is, has the capacity to teach many life lessons. Using that object to connect with nature as surfers do can bring yet another level of self reliance, which is mostly lost in our modern world. The Do It Yourself spirit which permeated surfing culture from the early 1900’s was mostly lost during the various waves of the commodification of surfing. But something that is lost can be found and Jensen has indeed found that spirit and shared it with whoever wants it. We are honored to present this short dialog with Paul Jensen and hope that you too will feel inspired.

Q. It’s going on two years since we interviewed you and a lot has changed in the surfboard world. I think the biggest and most obvious change has been the acceptance by surfers of materials other than polyurethane. How is the wood board side of things coming along?

Personally I’m as stoked as I’ve ever been…They are still the best thing to ride if you really want to feel the wave…It’s that resonance thing that hollow boards have… Something foam can’t do…

I’m also really glad to see the greater acceptance of hollow boards by the masses…More and more guys and gals are choosing to try something different…There is a renaissance of alternative designs and methods of construction that a lot of the “experts” thought was just a passing phase…There is a greater ignoring of the traditional surf media as well as their corporate driven message of what’s cool and what’s not cool to ride…People can see behind the curtain and are aware that those driving the media are force feeding it to those unwilling to think on their own …Fortunately around the world the US surf media is looked at cynically and the West Coast Surf Imperialism is seen for what it is…

Since our first interview, there are now commercially available hollow wood boards…Grain Surfboards and Danny Hess are both doing interesting things…Both are great design innovators and they are a huge benefit to surfing with their ability to produce hollow wood boards for those who choose not to build there own…We need more guys like Danny and Mike, guys who are following their passion…

Better yet, in my opinion, are Joe and Jane Averagesurfer, who want to build their own…Someone who I helped to build a board told me this…”If you are passionate about doing your sport, you should build your own equipment”…BINGO…

For too long the keys to the kingdom have been held by the Surf Industry, and the ability of the Industry to control the knowledge of how to build boards has been kept from the masses…The advent of the internet changed all that…Websites like Swaylocks.com opened the vault and spread the wealth…

There is absolutely no reason that anyone who can read this can’t make their own boards…It’s all there for anyone to use…

Q. One of the things that I’ve always found the most appealing about your work is the level of craftsmanship you bring. You’ve been traveling around the US and Europe teaching your methods. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

I find that there is a world of people out there wanting to build wood boards for a lot of different reasons… I’m glad to share what I know… When I meet the people who do the workshops I’m aware that it’s not necessarily me or my method they are looking for, its more like I’m a magnet that’s dropped in a country, and the idea of a wood board workshop draws similar minded people…A lot of them have their own ideas of how they want to build boards, often very specific to their regions…Once the group is together, they network…Share…They work together during the classes, but more important, after…They have each other’s contact info, they buy quality materials in quantity, share tools and workspaces and help each other…It has so exceeded my expectations and I feel privileged to be a part of the process…Lives change…

Q. I like how you talk on your website about learning about yourself as a person through the process and challenge of building a hollow wood surfboard. What kinds of reactions do you get from students or people who purchase your DIY instructions? How does the process of building your own surf craft affect your surfing experience?

Last year I participated in The Sacred Craft Surfboard Expo in San Diego…A two day “show”…Thousands of people…Like standing in the middle of a freeway… Crazy…

During the show people would come by my booth and invariably would say the obvious, “beautiful boards, blah, blah, blah, too pretty to ride, blah, blah, blah…To me it was frustrating to hear the same thing from 99.963% of the people… I make them to ride…

On day two of the show, I finally came up with a response to the predictable statement…It went something like this: “I see the visual appearance as the third reason to have one…A distant third at that…The second reason to have one would be the ride quality of a hollow wood board…The feelings that foam can’t offer…Resonant… Etc….I continued: I would paint any of my wood boards white if I had to if I could still have the feeling that these boards offer…That’s reason number two…The best reason to have a board like this is that you make it yourself and the person you become during the month long process of building your own board…You will have epiphanies as well as great difficulties…If you push through the hard parts the reward is so gratifying…Just like life…Ups and downs, where persistence is rewarded…”

I went on and told stories of cancer survivors using the board building process as the thing that kept them looking forward to tomorrow…And the stories of fathers who were real life hero’s to their kids and their kids’ friends, cause daddy was doing something so beyond cool…It came down to the fact that it was way more than just being about the board…It’s about relationships…

Since then I ask those who have built boards what three things are the best about building these boards…Reasons two and three are interchangeable, but reason number one is always the same…

Q. You’ve been surfing and making surfboards for a long time. I wonder how surfing has shaped your life for better or worse? What does surfing mean to you and do you think that you owe anything back to surfing?

Surfing is something I do when I go in the ocean…The ocean experience is definitely the prime factor that has molded me to who I am…Big time…Do anything with this kind of passion for thirty-five years plus and you’ll see the influence it has…It’s always there inside of me… I gave up trying to look like a surfer a long time ago…

Yeah, I definitely feel that I owe something back…That is the reason I created my website, in order to give back something to surfing since surfing made me who I am…I figured out a way to build boards that anyone could make without having to have surfboard specific materials…I thought it could be just another option to those wanting to make their own boards…I presented the whole process for free for a few years until I had an “unfortunate incident” at the beach with some guys I helped to build their own boards…Now I offer the process and kits for sale…I haven’t quit my day job…

Q. Any words of wisdom for someone wanting to try their hand at making a wood board?

If they’ve read this far I can only think of one thing to say: “What are you waiting for…???…”…

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You can read the first Paul Jensen interview here

Visit Paul’s website at www.hollowsurfboards.com