The Olympics are just around the corner. We’re entering a post-Coronavirus world, and borders are opening up again. Surfing, as you know, is one of the newest additions to the Games, and it’s a big deal — especially to hyper-competitive surfers like Jordy Smith.
Jeep called Smith up a while back and asked him what they could do to help him train for the Olympics. Half-jokingly, he said he’d like a shaping bay as close as possible to the venue. A place to make boards that fit the wave. A place to test boards, a place to ensure he’s going to have the right equipment.
“Today’s surfboards can be equated to golf clubs,” Smith said. “You need one for every single spot that you surf, the same way you need a different club for every shot.”
Jordy Smith grew up in the shaping bay. He knows his way around the tools as well as any surfer on tour, and probably better. His father is his shaper, and judging by his numbers, it’s a good team. His dad has the benefit of knowing how Jordy surfs almost as well as Jordy himself, so when Jeep created a secret shaping bay in Chiba called Project 7, they were both excited, to say the least.
The waves at Chiba, however, leave something to be desired. Oh, it can get good there, but it’s a rare thing. The World Surf League put together a short film about Jordy Smith’s secret Olympic shaping bay, and since the right equipment is of the utmost importance, Jordy Smith has a leg up on the competition.
