Local Hero
Over 30 years shaping
Graeme 'Bunty' Bunt
Then
I taught myself the early stages of shaping back a long time ago, there was no one around to learn from then. After some years one or two travelling surfer/shapers passed through the Polzeath area and taught me new techniques so it was slow steady progress.
As surfing and my business grew the opportunity arose to work with some very fine international shapers from Australia, USA and South Africa.
Travels
Peter Lawson from South Africa came and did a spell of shaping in the autumn of 1994, these boards were all short boards typical of the time. Peter had been on the world tour and turned to shaping at the end of his professional surfing career tutored under the great Rusty Preisendorfer of California. (Rusty Surfboards).
Later that winter Gordon & Smith of California sent Larry Mabile to shape 50 boards under the G&S label that we were going to produce in the U.K. Larry was a top class shaper and l learnt a lot from him, a very versatile shaper coming from the San Diego area. He’s gone on to make a name for himself with the Third World Exotic label, forging a market with his fishes, twinzers and longboards.
Now
In 2002 l travelled to Australia, whilst there l paid a visit to Midget Farrelly my blank suppler at the time, he put me in touch with a shaper named Frank Mc Williams, he was coming to Europe to do some shaping that summer, it turned into a six year stay.
l learnt a huge amount from Frank, his knowledge of surfboards was immense, he worked with the likes of Bob Mc Tavish and Farrelly, also shaping boards for top surfers inc. Sunny Garcia of Hawaii on his world title year in 1990.
We developed several new models in his time here which are still popular today. l like to think a lot of that knowledge rubbed off on me, and a bit of that goes in to every board l shape today.