The Art of Surfboard Making in Belmar

Call it a right of passage.

With the pass of an electric planer, Scott covers himself and most of the room with a liberal coating of foam dust.

In Belmar from Tennessee, Scott is one of many who visits Greenlight Surfboard Supply to learn the art of surfboard creation from owner Brian Gagliana.

Gagliana, a Philadelphia native who now lives in Belmar, opened Greenlight as a retail location at 727 17th Ave. between Main Street and Route 71 in November.

The business began in a Pennsylvania warehouse where Gagliana sold surfboard making supplies to online customers around the globe. It was in that warehouse, eight years ago, that Gagliani began to hone his skills as a surfboard shaper.

"It started with the desire to ride something that suited me better," he explained of his inspiration. 

That initial spark has led the 37-year-old in interesting directions.

Among his creations, an asymmetrically designed surfboard suited specifically to the rider's stance and a board with an eco-friendly bamboo thatched deck and fins.

Unique from many other industries, innovations and achievements in surfboard design are often made in sheds and garages rather than in large factories or laboratories. Without the concern for industry trends and bottom lines that major surfboard manufacturers must face, Gagliana can focus on passion over profits.

Additionally, Gagliana feels that shaping a board is integral to understanding a riding waves.

He explained that in ancient Polynesian tradition, young surfers in Hawaii would have to carve their own surfboards from Koa wood. 

Suffices to say, that tradition has not translated into modern surfing.

Today, surfers flock to shops where they choose from an often limited selection of boards. They may not necessarily understand or appreciate what goes into its creation. Gagliana is hoping to change that.

"We're trying to keep the tradition alive," he said. "You know everything about a surfboard when you walk out of here." 

"It's just a higher level experience."

Greenlight offers two surfboard shaping mentoring programs. At the end, customers will leave with a complete surfboard that they designed and shaped themselves under Gagliana's tutelage.

"It's way more fun than buying a board," he says. "You'll know what went into it."

The sessions are either three or five days in length. In addition to Gagliana's instruction and use of Greenlight's tools and facilities, the program includes all of the materials needed to shape and glass a surfboard.

The Greenlight programs are also competitively priced. Customers leave with not only a custom surfboard, but a working knowledge of surfboard design, for significantly less than the cost of a brand new board purchased off the rack of a surf shop.

Once they've taken the time to build a board, Gagliana is confident that they'll be hooked.

"Everyone's totally stoked about making boards," he said.

To that end, Greenlight sells everything budding shapers need, from fins to fiberglass, to build surfboards at home. 

The shop is open daily from 12 to 6 p.m. except Thursdays. Online orders can be placed at greenlightsurfboardsupply.com.