My brother and I had started making surfboards back in the early eighties – Flyin’ Fish Surfboards. Together we made over 500 surfboards and windsurfers. Eventually, I moved away to Florida and shortly after Flyin’ Fish closed its doors.
Rapo Surfboards came into being when Kenny Ward, longtime friend, told me he had ordered a couple blanks to make himself some boards. I asked if he had room for one for me, which he did and little did I know at that moment that I would go on to set up a surfboard factory!
Everything seemed to fall into place for the development of a new surfboard factory. My Mother had a warehouse where we lived in Westmoreland which was not being used. Kenny ordered the blanks and I kept wondering where I would shape my board, then the warehouse came to mind and I went to have a look. The northern section of the warehouse had been sectioned off into two spraying bays for applying lacquer and stain to furniture, extractor fans and all! So I now had a location to build my board.
I thought why not rekindle Flyin’ Fish Surfboards and I ordered some decals and made the first ten or so boards. Someone then suggested using another name…and thats when Rapo surfboards was born. It didn’t take long to realize that I had a great feel for shaping, the memories of the old days of Flyin’ Fish Surfboards were long gone, but not forgotten.
Surfing has been a large part of my life, I have surfed competitively for many years, and I have represented Barbados on several occasions. My brother Darren taught me to shape, but soon after that I was making most of the surfboards and he made most of the windsurfers. Together we made a good team and Flyin’ Fish Surfboards were the boards of choice for several years.
Today I have a state of the art shaping room, one which even Al Merrick would be proud of, and I am proud to say that the boards have come a long way in a short time. I pay careful attention to detail and having many high performance boards to analyze has helped in a big way. I am an experienced surfer who shapes boards so I don’t depend on feedback from other surfers who ride my boards.I have been riding my own shapes and I have fine tuned each new shape based on the previous ones performance.
My aim is to make boards that are fast, turn well and that are strong. I have always believed that speed is key to a good board, but speed is nothing without control and therefore it is essential for a board to be able to turn well at top speed.
I am proud to say that your new Rapo surfboard will be fast and it will turn well and I use the finest supplies in the industry including EPS blanks and epoxy and polyester resins. I intend to make boards that are both functional and resilient, reinforcing the areas that are proned to damage. I am confident I can produce boards that will outlast and out perform conventional boards and you can be a part of the entire process. It is my goal to ensure that you are 100% satisfied with your new Rapo stick!
I look forward to shaping your next board!! Blessup!!