Chuck’s New Ride — 6′1″ MK-Fish
As I’m writing this, it’s been about a month since I received a new surfboard that I had shaped by Conner Mehl. Since then, I’ve ridden it, showed it off, and fallen in love with it; and as an expression of my gratitude to Conner for his service, and to help anyone else who may be considering having a board shaped by him, I thought I’d write a little description of what my experience was like working with Conner.
Five months ago, or so, I came across Conner’s website and knew instantly that he and I shared a love for retro style surfboards. As soon as I saw the retro fish that he shaped, I wanted one. The problem was, I had just picked up a new board that very week (that, by the way, I wasn’t very happy with), and I didn’t exactly have the money to be buying another brand new board. But, I emailed Conner anyways, just to talk to him about his boards. As to not waste his time, I was open with Conner and told him that if I did end up having him shape me a board, it probably wouldn’t be for another six months or so.
I expected him to say “well, come back to me when you’re ready and we can talk about it then.” However, his reaction couldn’t have been more the opposite. For the next five months, we exchanged numerous lengthy emails and had several phone conversations about the board I wanted. With no money down of any kind, Conner talked to me all about the different shapes he made, what different variations of concave would do for a board and my surfing, different fin set ups, different styles of paint; the list goes on and on. Conner invested a lot of time in me, and he helped guide me to find the type of board that I wanted. Every time we talked, he told me how excited he was to get started on my new board. Conner taught me a lot about surfboards and he definitely stood by the statement on his website that says, “I love to talk about designs and concepts.”
In the end, the board he shaped turned out to be amazing. I wanted a retro fish that was a little bigger than what someone my size would normally ride. I wanted it to be a twin fin, yet I was hoping to be able to do the snappy bottom turns and back turns of a quad fin, without sliding out (impossible for a twin fin right?). Well, Conner made it happen! The board was shaped exactly to my specifications, the acid wash paint job looks amazing, and it rides exactly like I had hoped.
For anyone who has never had a board shaped by a local shaper, and even for some of you who have, I’ll tell you what an old time surfer once told me. And that is, you want to find a shaper that you can have a relationship with; one that takes the time to get to know you. You just can’t beat that feeling when getting a board shaped. Well, I’ve had several boards shaped by local shapers, and Conner Mehl is the first shaper that I’ve developed that relationship with. He is a true artist and explorer for the sport of surfing, and his passion for designing and shaping surfboards is inspiring. I hope you all get to enjoy the experience of shaping a board with Conner Mehl.
Mahalo Conner,
Chuck
