Justin Den Dulk in the shaping bay. Photo courtesy of Justin Den Dulk.
If you saw 20-year-old Justin Den Dulk walking down the street, it would be safe to assume he grew up on the water. He’s got beachy blonde hair and a casual disposition. And yes, he surfs on the regular. And he rips. Despite only recently being promoted from teenhood, he’s already got his own surfboard brand: Dagger Surfboards.
A San Clemente native, Den Dulk didn’t get into surfing until he was 14. His parents didn’t surf and he seldom visited the beach. But, in 2016, he saw a YouTube video on how to paint the bottom of your surfboard and was captivated by the design. So, he decided to give surfing a go.
“I started surfing, got my first board, and a month later, I wanted to know everything about surfing,” recalls Den Dulk. “I was hooked on the whole wave-riding scenario.”
A month or two into his surfing journey, Den Dulk dinged his board and went into Bashams to purchase the supplies he needed to fix his board. While he was in the shop, he noticed some older men shaping boards and was intrigued. He asked one if they’d be willing to teach him and luckily, he said yes.
Former professional longboarder and shaper Chris Schlickenmeyer took young Den Dulk under his wing and showed him the ropes. He taught Den Dulk the fundamentals and showed him how to look at curves and lines to achieve a symmetrical shape.
Justin Den Dulk, practicing what he preaches. Photo courtesy of Justin Den Dulk.
“I picked it up pretty quickly,” says Den Dulk. “At least that’s what people say. The learning curve felt pretty natural, but I had a really good mentor.”
For his first board, Den Dulk shaped a 5’2” with six channels in the bottom. According to Den Dulk, a channel bottom board is one of the more challenging shapes to achieve and most wait until they’re more versed in the art of shaping before attempting the extreme design. But, Den Dulk had his heart set on tackling it on his first go.
“It turned out great,” says Den Dulk. “I had some ideas and Chris showed me how to use the planer, the hand tools, and how to make my rail correct — I was super stoked on it. If that board didn’t turn out the way it did, I don’t know if I would still be shaping.”
The following week, Den Dulk shaped two more boards. After shaping a few boards at Bashams, the teen made a makeshift shaping bay in is parents’ backyard where he went on to make his next 55 boards. After that, he redid it, adding a few improvements, and shaped another 100 before relocating to a more permanent location.
From the beginning, Den Dulk wanted to have some sort of branding on his boards. He branded the first fifteen under the name “Ancient Surfboards” before switching to the name he’s still shaping under today: Dagger Surfboards. In Dutch, Den Dulk means “from the dagger,” so the name seemed fitting.
Finishing touches. Photo courtesy of Justin Den Dulk.
After branding his boards, turning his work into a business happened naturally. When he was first getting started, Den Dulk would buy a blank, shape a board, sell it at Used Surf, and then use his earnings to make another. After fifteen or twenty boards, he was commissioned to shape his first custom: a 10’6” log. From there, things began to take off.
“Because I hadn’t really been surfing that much, I thought the best way to progress my surfing was to understand everything about how to build a surfboard,” says Den Dulk. “The past two years I’ve gotten really into making it something that will last and something that’s going to improve the surf industry.”
When it comes to creating a board, Den Dulk does it all, start to finish – from shaping the foam to glassing the board, his fingerprints are everywhere. Although Den Dulk is knowledgeable enough to shape a wide range of boards, his speciality is performance shortboards. His focus is shaping boards for pros or people who really want to progress their surfing. Although his business is still young, Den Dulk has already had a few professional surfers order his boards and plans to have a team riding Dagger Surfboards someday.
“I want to make the best high-performance shortboards in the world,” says Den Dulk. “That’s the goal. I want to really push the limits of what is possible with different constructions of boards — how to make them lighter, stronger, and work better in small waves and big waves.”
