By: Owen Simler & Jason Watkins | Writers & Photographers
Within the new era of surfing lies the mass production of machine-made surfboards, lacking the personal touch of a board shaper. Although these factory boards are more common among the surfing community, real quality and style comes with the personal customization with local surfers. They know how to truly craft a unique tailored board that you can trust and enjoy.
Despite the declining surf business that is being destroyed by oversea corporations, family held businesses such as Dewey Weber continue to go the extra mile to guarantee quality over quantity with their hand-shaped surfboards.
Companies such as Channel Islands are mass producing boards by the thousands and shipping these boards across seas to be sold in the United States. Because these boards are being mass produced at such little cost, some local surf companies are not able to compete with the same low prices.
Some taxes on imported goods from China have made the surf industry a much more equal and competitive industry. Essentially, the overall price of surfboards have now been raised closer to what it used to be, undermining the cheap boards being consistently sold to surfers. This allows local and family owned businesses to compete with these capitalist companies, when quality is worth the extra dollar.
One of the local board shapers in the San Clemente surf ghetto, Shea Weber, truly abides by this belief of personal customization. Shea’s surf shop, Dewey Weber, named after his father who ran the shop 20 years prior, is an ideal spot to buy an unparalleled board. He understands the comforting environment and exceptional quality of an old-fashioned surf shop.
Dewey Weber’s motto, “stay close to the soul,” is a perfect way to describe what his board shop represents. Shea stands by each and every one of his boards, taking pride and commitment to purify a newly evolving toxic surf industry to represent what his Dad always stayed true to, the classic surf.
With Shea’s experience growing up in the surf city of San Luis Obispo, and surfing throughout his entire life, he understands the surf industry and excels in shaping the quality of boards that all surfers strive to have. He explains “It’s our job to constantly evaluate and fine tune the finest board possible”
Recently the Shop Dewey Weber has moved locations just a 100 feet back to his original shop which is located on 131 Calle Valle, San Clemente, 92672. Shea Weber wants to express that “if you treat people like family, you will be linked on a much higher level than just an employee or just a customer..and this is the core that Dewey Weber is all about.”
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