Who is fletcher chouinard

By: Gabriela Aoun. By: Daniel Duane. The Best Snowboards of By: Drew Zieff. Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is Read more about the condition Used: An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used.

See all condition definitions opens in a new window or tab. Modification Description:. Modified Item:. Board Type:. He had a one line traction kite for crossings and I was thinking how awesome it would be to drag myself with that thing on a surfboard. I flailed for a while and really got nowhere. I started seeing a few things pop up with the guys in Maui, but it was probably Peter Trow and Corky Cullen that started it here in Ventura and Santa Barbara.

I started flailing around with kites again through Corky and that was it. As a person who knows a thing or two about surfboards, what did you choose as your first kitesurf board? The few boards I shaped early on ended up being a nightmare. I was using an 8. Once kites got better, we transitioned back to kitesurfing.

There were a lot of equipment limitations for a long time in terms of efficiency. That was around the time we started riding surfboards again.

These days our Shrike model and Blunt model are the shapes that cover just about anything I would want to surf. As a shaper who kites, how do you choose which board to ride? Visit Help Center. Photo: Al Mackinnon. At Fletcher Chouinard Designs, the focus is on durable, high-performing equipment that lets you have fun no matter what the ocean is doing.

There are never enough hours in a day for Fletcher Chouinard. As a surfer, shaper, kiteboarder and new father, he was really doing the dance. Then along came foilboarding, which has made things even more complicated, but also provided him with a fresh perspective on having fun in less-than-perfect surf. Step-ups, big-wave guns, small-wave grovelers and foils lined the walls, reflecting an eclectic love for the ocean and an open mind to shaping and design.

The mediums are different, but the approach that has always run through everything Patagonia—build gear that works and lasts, and then get out with it and have fun—runs just as strong through FCD and Patagonia Surf.

Shape it, then surf it: Fletcher Chouinard collects real-time design data a few minutes from his shaping bay in Ventura County, California. Photo: Scott Soens. FC: At first I was just a high school kid who wanted free boards. Then, after I made a few, I got hooked on the process and the way a small tweak to a shape would make a massive difference to how it performed. Each improvement would better my surfing, or at least broaden my experience.

It was addicting for me. Eventually, I lost interest in my major at college and jumped ship to shape full time. Has your approach changed much over the last 25 years or mostly remained the same? I go back to the basics and hand-shape a few boards from time to time, to keep it real and not get lost in the minutiae.