Dano surfboards

“Dan Forte moved to Southern California at the age of 12 from Brooklyn NY. When he arrived Dan learned in a Southern San Diego neighborhood that in you where either a surfer or not a surfer. His choice to be a surfer at this early age has shaped his life and career. Dano grew up in Mission Viejo in OC and dedicated to surfing as a teen he would ride his bike down El Toro Blvd. all the way to the beach with the a 7′ Stewart pin tail on the back. He started shaping as a late teen. Dano describes his first board as being thick and awkward. After the first few rides he put it away and went back to his old board. After a while he picked it up again and learned how to ride it and figured how to improve it. So he built another board then another and another. Soon he was building short boards for all his buddies. Then as his name got out and people started talking about the boards, demand rose. For a time Dano said he was shaping over 20 boards per week. These are all hand shaped, designed and sanded by him. At this rate Dano was burning out and it lost its fun.
He needed a change. Developing his talent as a graphic artist over the years Dano decided to get a “job” behind a desk. He got a position at a dot com company doing graphics. In his free time he started shaping “retro” boards and classic long boards for himself while working. Once again his circle of surfing buddies began putting in orders for one of his “new” retro boards. Then the dot com collapse happened and Dano was back to shaping.

The timing could not have been better, the classic board and retro movement was just taking off and the orders started lining up and shapes are flying off the racks at surf shops.

He has been shaping boards for over two decades and he estimates that he has shaped well over 7,000 boards in that time.”
text: reviewsurfboards.com

Dano Shaping Video from jack b on Vimeo.