“There, we have the board of our dreams!” Meeting with Laurent Chambon, the only shaper (surfboard manufacturer) in Royan

It was following a professional reconversion that Laurent Chambon became a shaper. He shapes custom surfboards according to the requests of his customers and he is starting to be well known to board sports enthusiasts in the Pays Royannais.

A shaper is a craftsman who works in the field of board sports and makes surfboards in a workshop that he shapes (to shape in English). Laurent Chambon chose Royan to practice this profession more widespread in other departments such as Landes.

He is the only shaper in Royan and each of his pieces is unique, in line with the requests of his customers, who sometimes provide elements such as fabric or a fin. And that is what appeals to him:

What excites me is that when the customer comes, he asks me for a board, he wants a personalized cut. All that makes me vibrate.

Laurent Chambon

Surfboard Shaper

He has only been working in this profession for two years. Before, Laurent Chambon was a plumber and heating engineer, but he had to stop after 25 years of activity due to back problems. : “I had to retrain. And since I was already repairing boards a little, I said to myself: why not do training as a composite materials laminator in La Rochelle?”

After eight months of training, Laurent Chambon was able to change careers and live his passion for board sports. And the satisfaction of his customers is more than encouraging. :

He’ll make the rails we ask for, he’ll make the width, the length we want, the little personalized fin… And then, we have the board of our dreams.

Franck Dugas

Amateur surfer

Unique surfboards that cost between 700 and 1,500 euros. The dream price for surfing enthusiasts.

Report by Corentin Fouchard and Pascal Simon.