Over a couple of beers at The Northern in Byron Bay, Santa Diego shaper Chris Christenson sat down with Alex Workman and, amongst other things, explained why opening your mind to different boards is the best thing you can do for your surfing.

Alex Workman: Should more surfers build a relationship with one shaper?
Chris Christenson: I think surfers should build a relationship with several shapers. I honestly don’t believe in working with one guy in anything. Even myself, I enjoy getting boards from other shapers. I’ve always looked up to and respected Simon Anderson and last year when I was here I was like, ‘I’ve got to get a board from Simon Anderson’. So I finally met the guy and even I was intimidated by him you know?

Matt Biolos and I shape boards for each other all the time. So it’s not just about getting a relationship with one person, having a relationship with several shapers is actually only going to broaden your knowledge of your equipment and respect for it. It’s only going to benefit your surfing in the long run.

Speaking of equipment you shape everything from Simmons-inspired fish, to performance shortboards, to big wave guns. Is this a reflection of what you’re into or your many influences showing through?
I think a lot of it is that I’ve been lucky enough to have so many influences. From being around Dick Brewer to Skip Frye, to working for Rusty—I used to be the team shaper at Rusty in the early 90s. It’s also my overall love for surfing and all aspects of it.

I like the way that guy rides a longboard and I like the way that guy rides a fish and that guy’s ripping on that thruster. It's a good challenge to do each one of those. Most shapers specialise in one area and leave it with that.

I also knew as a business model that if I could adapt in each style of surfing I’m probably not going to run out of work. That helped too.

The other part of it is that I’m super ADD. Today I did two guns for Ryan Hipwood—a 9’8” and a 10’4” for Jaws. Then I did boards for Noa Deane—all performance shortboard models. One was a channel bottom, a couple were swallow tails and a squash tail. I also did a twin fin fish and a 5’10” bonzer all in a day. It makes the day go quicker too. I think it’s a positive for my shaping.

Why do you think people are becoming more receptive to different ideas and trying different shapes?
I think it’s healthy to be diverse in anything in life. Anytime you’re focused on one thing that’s an obsession, and in my opinion it’s not healthy. Since I’ve been diverse in my shapes it’s been neat because I’ve dealt with guys who are on tour who only deal with performance boards and then they’ll see a twin fin or a longboard that I make and then they say, "Oh man, I want one of those for his pointbreak I have out the front or when I’m in the off-season".

The opposite happens too. I get longboard guys or alternative guys who surf really, really well that go, "Man, I want to get a performance board for when the waves get really good".

So it’s cool to finally see all the tribes in surfing kind of coming together now and being open about everything. Because twenty years ago, man you were either this or that and there was no crossing the tracks to the other side.

What things hold people back from choosing the right board?
At the end of the day we’re all consumers and we're all influenced by something. Especially nowadays, whatever you’re passionate about is readily available just on your phone, from searching hashtags to searching Google, Instagram and before that we were influenced by videos. Everything is so accessible now and there’s so much information.

Now, being on the other side of the fence and taking orders from people it’s kind of abstract, and I’ll be honest, 75% of the people that come to me have one thing in their head before we’ve met, and once I’m done with them 75% of the time it’s something else.

So what happens in that process, how do you steer them into the right board?
At the end of the day I’m kind of like a therapist, right? I gotta listen to them and I can kind of figure them out pretty quick. Usually it’s like, "No, no, no, no—this is what you’re going to get".

OK, so I’ve walked in, told you I rode a 5’10” bonzer of yours that I like but I want something that can be pushed in bigger waves. I’m open to trying anything—a single fin, going longer. What do you recommend?
Well the sky’s the limit, man. We could do that bonzer longer, or you could try a single fin…there’s no right or wrong though I’ve always been a fan of of the longer rail. 7’0” to 8’0” boards doing a proper turn on a three foot wave is a beautiful thing in my opinion.

I think more and more people are getting open to that because they are so brainwashed by what Kelly [Slater] has done all these years. I love Kelly but everyone has been brainwashed into riding that style of equipment and do that style of turn that they might get half way to it in about 1 out of 100 tries.

When you see a guy like Kelly have so much influence on a marketplace does it scare you or motivate you to push your designs further?
It would scare me if I didn’t understand it, but I understand it. It’s like everything in life. [Chris gestures outside the bar] Why does that guy want those tyres on his car? Why does that van have a whole bunch of flowers on it..? Our brain shoots so many sparks.

Literage has become this new gospel that defines how to choose the right board. Do you have an opinion about that?
[Long pause]. I mean … I’ve been reading a book lately and it’s called, ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck’ and to me that’s just a great way of approaching your surfing. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. What feels natural to you? What do you want to do, and to what end is that realistic?

The art of not giving a fuck is also about being realistic. Not giving a fuck and being unrealistic are a dangerous mix. You’ve gotta be realistic.

You've already said you like to be diverse, but is there one particular board that you enjoy shaping more than another?
I get asked that question a lot. I’d say I love shaping guns, but today I had to do two and I fucking hated it because the blanks felt like concrete. I knew I was getting hungry and I wanted to go to dinner with my buddy Charlie. I was like, ‘Fuck these guns! I’d rather shape a shortboard right now’ [Laughs].

It all depends on the moment really. At the end of the day I like to let my work do the talking. My only goal is that I hope I’m doing something positive for surfing. I don’t really give a shit about what model is better.

What do you hope people will remember when they mention Chris Christenson, the shaper?
[Long pause] I really don’t treat anyone differently. Whether it’s the guy who wants the board for Jaws, or Tom, Dick and Harry who want a board for their local beachbreak—I honestly just approach it with the same passion. Obviously if I’m doing a 10’6” board for Jaws I’m going to go a bit slower and measure where I place the fins a few extra times. But it’s not really my goal to be known for anything.

What was the last board you shaped?
Today I finished with a 10’4” Jaws gun—it was 90 litres, 21 inches wide by 4 inches thick for Ryan Hipwood.

(Photos this page courtesy Brendan Back)