ROBERTS SURFBOARDS BEST SHAPES OF THE YEAR

Congrats to 805 shaper Robert Weiner for winning the coveted "Shaper of the Year." What a major accolade.
Not to take anything away from the shaper of the year title, but in the age of computer generated surf design and so many shapers making such similar boards the title Shaper of the Year seems a little outdated. Now don't get me wrong, this title went to the best person this year. shit, you can't paddle out with out seeing at least 10 Roberts designs so obviously people love them. but any shaper this year was making stubby, wide tail grovelers for high performance surfing in marginal waves. yes there was conflict between Al Merrick and some online videos, with the bottom line being which came first the chicken or the egg?  did the white diamond inspire the dumpster diver? was the dupster diver out before the dump truck? was the ...lost rocket out before the White diamond?  Whos to say and who's to really care because since the beginning shapers and surfers were always trying different things, taking one of somebody elses and either adding or subtracting design ideas to make it that much more responsive or lighter or faster or whatever. the underlying goal was always how can the surfers on my boards surf the best they possibly can? the answer is with the best equipment for the skill set of the surfer and waves being ridden. its hard to get over the guys with 7'8" fun shape quad fin setups. its like you can barley stand up you really think the $800 custom quad setup is gonna put you over the top? maybe the award could be changed to "shapes or shape of the year"and will be given for the design that pushed surfing to the highest level, as the "diamonds and dumptrucks" did this year. it still takes a skilled  and quality shaper to create the designs so there would be no recognition loss there.

 "WHITE DIAMOND" the board that changed it all!

this years shaper of the year, seems to have worked with all degrees of surf skill and theory and came up with the best all around boards for this modern design theory. So that in its own right is a great claim to fame and well deserved. Roberts has been a grass roots local shaper dedicated to putting out the best boards he can for his surf team and all clientele for many years. Its about time he caught his big break. It truly proves that if you stick with something that you love through thick and thin dreams can come true. That's indeed what this award is about. Who knows what next years surfboard design gimmick will be but with s10ter, dane, jordy and Roberts' inspiring team defining modern surfing on unique equipment, I'm sure next year will bring a whole new dimension.
p.s. i want a 5'3" white diamond.. hook it up!



heres some previous Shapers of the Year
Tom Wegener
Rusty Preisendorfer
Bert Berger
Eric Arakawa
Al Merrick