Inland Texas shapes! As the sport of wakesurfing continues to grow in popularity so too will the boards from the hands of new local surf companies like Tuk Tuk (Austin) and Fitzpatrick Surf (Fort Worth). Along with the addition of new surf parks- NLand Surf Park in Austin and American Wave Machines at BSR (Barefoot Ski Ranch) in Waco, not to mention the ever growing popularity of SUP, Texas based shapers like Tom Haney (Tuk Tuk), Alec Wood (Waterloo), Brock Dumoit (Doomswell), Nick Wiersema (Chaos Surf) and Mike Fitzpatrick (Fitzpatrick Surf) have expanded their reach. A surfboard is a means to surf, it is a piece of art and most importantly, it is a relationship. The growth of wakesurfing in Texas goes hand in hand with the support of local Texas shapers, local athletes and local surf shops.
Doomswell Boarding Co
The good news is that each of these shapers is doing a pretty darn good job at representing Texas. Some, like Brock Dumoit (Houston), with Doomswell Boarding Co, have grown beyond their production capabilities and have expanded into a global market.
“It’s insane seeing how our company grew from a garage in 2010 into where it is today. We have now refined our manufacturing process to be more streamline and can now scale to meet our dealers and customers expectations in a timely manner. At the same time, the sport is continuing to flourish in all directions and inland surf parks is a growing market we hope to dive into and back to our Texas ocean surfing roots.”
Surfboards by Fitzpatrick
Born in raised in Colleyville, TX and a shaping room in his parents backyard, Mike Fitzpatrick, 31, has even added handplanes to his list of shapes, both for Texans and beyond. Here’s a fun little video of Mike in the shaping room:
Tuk Tuk
Tuk Tuk, another Austin based wakesurf company, and its founder/shaper- Tom Haney, enjoy playing around with new shapes and new materials for wake/surf boards in the shaping room equipped with a C and C machine near Steiner Ranch where the annual Barrel Boss wakesurfing competition is held.
Waterloo
Meanwhile Alec with Waterloo Soul Craft is enjoying the growth of longboard wakesurfing and shaping the walking blocks of the next big division in the sport, for athletes like their team rider Tegan Gainan. Nose riding behind the boat? Yep!
Chaos Surf Co.
Nick Wiersema, Austin based shaper for nearly a decade, has seen the benefit of being a Texas based company for years through Chaos and Shredstixx customs. For Nick, buying from a local shaper is
“about building a relationship, a family, community. You buy local because there is something intrinsically pure about working directly with your shaper. You can accomplish this at a distance with modern technology, but nothing beats sitting down face to face with a true craftsman and letting him walk you through a series of questions which will illuminate the type of surfer you are and the surfer you can be.”
As you take your next step to buying your first wakesurfboard, we would definitely recommend developing a relationship with a local shaper like one of these guys. Staying local and supporting local has always been a Texas sized trend, from music artists like Willie Nelson to local homebrews like Shiner Bock and Titos. Although these shapers will never be as big as Willie Nelson that is exactly the benefit you will receive through your first shape- small and personable.