Self gives food

Where sell gives food where the change is move.

The longer I do this, the more it's apparent to me that there is no conventional path into board building.

Every shape or story is as unique as the next, but after 11

years, there is a unifying theme that's emerged from the hundreds of shapers that I've

interviewed. And that is the theme of hard work. No one makes a living as a surfboard shaper

without working tirelessly. It's impossible to develop the craftsmanship

without thousands of hours of time on the tools. It's impossible to understand the design theories.

And it's impossible to develop any meaningful level of market saturation by which to make a living

if you don't execute those first two things and then additionally work

tirelessly in the realm of customer service to keep cash flow coming so that you can continue

to develop the craft. It is intense and perilous from the very start and only gets more

so as the business grows.

My goal with these interviews is to understand what character traits and motivations

position someone to do this at the highest level.

Today's guest is a preeminent example of this.

But before we get to him, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Surf Rider Foundation,

Vayer Watches, and Real Water Sports. Chris Christensen has worked with Real Water Sports for years,

and from the moment I clicked the record off button on today's interview, he immediately goes,

shoot, I should have said something about Tripp and Real Water Sports. We neglected to give them credit during the interview, so I'm going to said something about Trip and Real Water Sports.

We neglected to give them credit during the interview, so I'm going to do it right now.

Real Water Sports is one of the marquee surfboard retailers on the planet.

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