Ryan Burch makes some of the most sought-after surfboards in the world. That’s not an easy thing to do — there are a million shapers covering themselves in foam dust in garages everywhere — and Burch managed to do it by simply making surfboards that he likes to ride.
Burch, as you know, is a fantastically talented surfer who makes surfboards that aren’t… normal. He is one of the best shapers of asymmetrical boards in the world, and those aren’t for everyone. But when some people show what they’re capable of, those boards become wanted by everyone.
“At first people were tripping,” he laughs in the newest episode of Handcrafted, which was shot at Uluwatu Surf Villas. ‘They were like, ‘dude what are you even doing?’ They didn’t get it, you know?”
Burch traveled to Uluwatu with his family and spent his stay there churning out surfboards and surfing. In the end, he made 31 boards. Some were for Drifter Surf Shop, but the ones that weren’t already claimed were picked up quickly. Burch is of the belief that the right surfboard can do wonders under a surfer’s feet, and if that surfer is the same one who made the surfboard, it’s just that much better.
“You can solve all the problems you have in the water by what you’re able to shape in the shaping room,” says Ryan. “And elevate your connection with wave riding, and surprise yourself, and ride something that you just sweated over – it just makes the experience that much better.”
He’s been making surfboards for a long time, and he knew it was for him almost immediately.
“After I made that first board, all the creative energy shifted to making surfboards,” Burch said about his feelings after shaping and glassing his first surfboard. “It was everything that I was living for summed up in one craft.”
