A melding of the minds, as it were. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Ryan Lovelace is a lot of things, but one thing that really stands out are his shaping skills. His surfboards are some of the most sought after on Earth, and that’s because he has a deep understanding of what tiny little tweaks will do to a slab of foam when that foam is used for riding waves. So when William Aliotti, one of the most stylish surfers around, had a chance to build a board with Lovelace, he jumped at it.
“In this video, I bring you behind the scenes of my unique collaboration with renowned shaper Ryan Lovelace,” Aliotti wrote. “Through countless phone calls and creative exchanges, we work together to design and shape a brand new prototype board.”
A shaper needs to know a few things to make a surfboard that will work for a certain person. It helps that Aliotti is extremely knowledgable about surfboards, but like any good shaper-surfer relationship, they both bring something to the table. They wanted to make something outside of the box, which is where Lovelace shines.
“This board is made to try something new and different,” Aliotti continued, “tested in challenging spots like Chile, Namibia, and the Mentawaii Islands… This is more than just crafting a surfboard — it’s about pushing boundaries and creating something truly original. This is the first prototype that we call the Satellite Asymmetrical.
They did the whole thing remotely, chatting back and forth, bouncing ideas off one another. Ryan Foote followed along to document the process, and the final product — both the surfboard and the film — is fantastic.
