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Memory Banks, presented by FCS and GoPro, is a new series where we talk to some of the faces of the surfboard shaping industry about why they got into the biz, what makes them tick and how they approach constructing a surfboard.
For our fourth episode, we visit the home of shaper, surfer, Album/XO Coco mastermind, Matt Parker.
A designer by trade, Parker’s boards are crafted with a well-prioritized perspective that combines functionality and beauty, as evidenced by his ever-advancing technique developed through over a decade of trial and error. He surfs, he gets it, he figures out what’s working and what isn’t, he fixes it, you surf it, you love it.
‘Surfboards are a terrible business, why would I do that?’ Parker says laughing with a stunner of a grin on his face. That is an excellent question, and a common theme throughout this series. The idea of participating in the surf industry as an independent shaper is one that comes with a squint and a head scratch as it isn’t very often that the little guy triumphs in a world dominated by mega corporations, and yet those triumphs occur. Each participant of this series does what they do in incredible ways and with the humility, patience, and artistry necessary to stand out, humility being perhaps the most important word.
Throughout the series, you might notice that the subjects - Matt Parker included - each have a moment where they discuss selling their first board, and in that moment, they aren’t assured, they are surprised. Shocked, even, that someone would spend money on their craft, and it is that humility and awareness that grants them their success. They aren’t cocky about it, or have any ideas about what they 'ought to get. They are grateful and more than deserving for what they have, and Matt Parker - who says of his long-passed work, ‘if I held them now, I’d probably cringe’ - perhaps most of all.
