Tony Ortolani - custom surfboard shaper.

A life-long carpenter, craftsman, and ocean lover, I got my start shaping surfboards 25 years ago in Oahu with some help and direction from underground local master Gordon Hansen. I moved to California and continued building custom boards, as well as developing my skills in wooden surfboard and paddle-board construction. Exploring new shapes, new ways to project my own creative thoughts and style on a wave, and create a different line, my one-of-a-kind boards are always one step or more from the main stream. I believe it’s all about the relationship with the wave and individual surfer. Each board should further the surfer’s unique goals, not replicate another’s idea of what surfing is all about. In 2020, my wife and I moved from California to the east coast of Nova Scotia to escape the crowds and traffic, and start again on our path towards artistic freedom in the hard core surf community and cold water paradise. To me, beauty is achieved through perfect function and its visual realization. Even the most ornate wall-hangers are nothing without the knowledge that they will perform when called upon.

I’m an aficionado of planing hulls, asymmetricals, displacement hulls, edge boards, flex tails, fish, hand planes, and everything in between. My time spent shaping and riding eclectic shapes gives me the experience necessary to make boards to fit the needs of any surfer, from the expert to the beginning surfer. Whether you want nothing more than to throw buckets off every lip you see, power-carve long linked-together turns, or trim down the line while you cross step to the nose, I can make the board for you. If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind work of art that will surf just as well, I’ll build you a custom wooden board or paddle board of the design you desire.