Paul Surf

Shaper: Paul J. Schimdt

Location: Rockaway Beach, NY

About: Paul J. Schmidt is one of only a handful of people in the world who professionally hand-builds surfboards from start to finish. He has dedicated over 10,000 hours to the shaping bay and glassing studio, and for the past six years, has worked out of the Paul Surf studio in Rockaway Beach, New York.

A passionate surfer, Paul made his first surfboard when he was 20 years old, and over the years has developed an organic business out of his obsessive pursuit of perfection of the craft.

Today, Paul’s surfboards are not only thoughtful in their connection to a well-established heritage of traditional building techniques, but also in their innovative design and quality. 

Prior to building surfboards, Paul was part of a design team in SoHo, New York, which specialized in handmade glass sculpture, and before that, graduated from Brooklyn College with a masters in poetry. 

It is in the Paul Surf Studio where Paul explores all of his creative ideas together, and where the designs are conceptualized. While some iterations may look spontaneous, all surfboards are created with a high degree of artistic control. Each movement is carefully planned, as Paul precisely considers the elements of function and form of every surfboard.