Q&A GARY SEAGRAVES
La Jolla stockbroker was never really an option...
Interview & Photography by Aaron Goulding
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alifornia native, Gary Seagraves, picked up surfing as a young kid, but had no idea he would end up working in the surf manufacturing industry. He attended college at SDSU in 1988, and after graduating in 1991 with a B.S. in Business/Finance, he took a job right out of college at a Stockbrokerage firm in La Jolla. Six months later, still with long hair and playing in a grunge band, he decided wearing a suit wasn’t for him and found himself working for a La Jolla based surfboard builder. Two years later, he founded Seagraves Surfboards and brokered board sales for a couple different companies as well as his own. At the same time, he also began brokering snowboard deals. “We were right in the middle of the snowboard explosion. Everyone interested in building or selling snowboards were getting into the business. There must have been 300 labels and only 30 manufacturers at that time. I worked as the manufacturer’s rep for Mori Mora, Japan, brokering and outsourcing manufacturing for labels such as O’Neil Japan and Chromaphobia. Two years later, he found himself manufacturing snowboards right here in San Diego under the company name, Rocket Science Snowboard Manufacturing. “We built thousands of boards for Forum Snowboards and some other companies as an OEM snowboard manufacturer.” By 1998, the market was saturated and it was back to Surfboard building. “What a relief it was to get out of the factory and back into the surf. I concentrated my efforts on building boards for my surf team of great local surfers like Mike Myers, Al Bandy, Monte McCullough, and others.” Seagraves was building product for Stash Japan and still ghost shaping a little for a couple companies like Christiansen and Brewer. The surf industry was still a good industry to be in until 2005 when Clark Foam closed its doors and there were 350,000 blanks per year void in the market. All of a sudden foam blank companies popped up out of nowhere and he was one of them. “Within a week of Clark Foam shutting down, I was hired by Petritech to shape, validate, and run the surfboard blank division of the Foam Company.” By 2009, the surfboard manufacturing industry had spiraled downhill, manufacturing surfboards is no longer a cottage industry and large companies were building surfboards and foam overseas. “No better time than now to film and produce a surf documentary” Seagraves noted. The rest is history……..
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RIS: So Gary, how many years have you been shaping now? GS: I’ve been shaping in La Jolla since 1991, so 20 years. RIS: I noticed that you not only shape boards but you actually do the entire process from start to finish. Please elaborate on this and what got you started doing the entire process. GS: Prior to December 2005, I purchased my surfboard foam blanks from Clark Foam so it wasn’t necessary to blow foam. After Clark Foam shut down, I had the opportunity to work with Petritech, a high technology foam manufacturer that was interested in creating cleaner chemistry surfboard foam. From that experience, we were able to create a less toxic MDI formula which I am still currently using. After the foam blank is made, we cut them in half and insert a wood stringer for strength. The board is then custom shaped and glassed according to the customers specs. RIS: Please explain the difference between the foam you use and Clark foam. GS: Clark foam was based on TDI foam chemistry, Toluene diisocyanate. The foam I use is MDI based Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate. MDI has a higher molecular weight and is less volatile than TDI in the work environment. It is closed cell and formulated for high strength to weight ratios. I do still shape a lot of TDI foam from US blanks, they have good blanks and mold sizes available. There is a lot of controversy on whether MDI is truly better for our health as board builders, so I would refer to what the EPA and other reputable agencies say about it. My experience is that it is in the raw chemical form and processing into the foam blank mold that TDI and MDI poses a health risk, so we shapers are most likely not being affected. Similar to a styro foam cup we drink out of that has styrene in it. RIS: How did the Clark Foam situation affect you? GS: I got involved in making surfboard foam within a week of the demise of Clark Foam. Many people ventured into the polyurethane foam market and I was hired by Petritech to run the Surfboard foam division of the company. It was a time of R & D for advancement in surfboard foam chemistry. RIS: What’s your favorite board to shape and why? GS: I really enjoy shaping and vacuum bagging bamboo surfboards. It’s a different experience and I like using different composites and resin systems. RIS: What sets you apart from the rest of the core shapers in San Diego? GS: Well, I make my own surfboard foam blanks and custom stringer inserts. I also build surf inspired furniture using combinations of foam and exotic woods. . RIS: I understand you shaped a special board for an amazingly talented local artist, Rich Morrison. Can you tell me about that and what kind of challenges you had to work through? And did the board work? GS: It was a unique piece that should be in a surf museum. The board’s core is recycled beer cans glued together with the 6’7”R blank rocker with dual basswood stringers, we added foam, then shaped it into a 6’2” twin fin, and glassed it like a regular board. It is functional art and yes it was surfed a couple times at Blacks and also Trestles. RIS: You also just released a new surf flick. What is it called, where can people see it, who is in it, and what is it about? GS:”Nightmare on Neptune” is a Surf Documentary about the La Jolla surf culture. It features Michael Myers, JP Marengo, Skip Frye, Mike Hynson and a lot of the local Windansea rippers. We recently premiered the surf film at Birds surf shed and more viewing dates will be announced on the website www.nightmareonneptune.com Look for the DVD in your local surf shop and online in the near future. RIS: What can you say about today’s surf board and how they are manufactured versus 10 years ago? GS: There has been a lot of innovation in surfboard building over the past 10 years with different core types and construction. But the preferred board today is still the polyurethane blank and polyester resin. Shaping machines have replaced traditional hand shapes. Many people are building them in third world countries which are hurting the market for US board builders. Support your local shaper and buy American! RIS: Gary where can people get a hold of you to have a custom board shaped by you? GS: Email me or call for a custom board or blank made in the USA -surfboards@seagraves.com http://www.surfboards.seagraves.com http://www.thedavyjoneslocker.com