Jim Phillips
Jim Phillips's experiences in becoming a shaper span both coasts of the United States. Through the years, his understanding of wood, foam and its properties makes him one of the few expert craftsman that can produce a work of art whose exceptional quality translates to performance in the water.
Jim began surfing on Oahu, Hawaii in 1960. Jim began shaping a few boards by peeling the glass off a board or two and then asking around about glassing and what should be used and how to do it. After some traveling Jim found himself at the Hobie shop in Ocean City, Maryland in the early months of 1965. The guys that owned the shop decided to let Jim shape a few boards for them. That lasted before the Fourth of July of that year. After a couple of months of gathering his thoughts in New England, Phillips went to Long Island where he got a job with a local board builder. While surfing in the fall of 1966 in Cocoa Beach Florida, Jim met Gary Propper, Mike Tabeling, and Bruce Valuzzi. Jim’s surfing improved by watching and being around these guys. All three are legendary East Coast surfers who were major influences for the next generation of East Coast surfers.
In 1967 Phillips was working for Carl "Tinker" West at Challenger Eastern Surfboards. West had a strong influence on Jim’s shaping, teaching him the fundamentals and techniques of his way of shaping. This was the foundation on which Phillips built upon. In December of 1967 a week before Christmas Jim was on the West Coast visiting friends, and happened to be at Rincon in Santa Barbara, surfing on his 9’10” Challenger Surfboard. Bob McTavish and Steve Bigler had just gotten off the plane from LAX. The two paddled out on their 8’ 7” McTavish surfboards. They had a wide full tail section, a thick V on the bottom and a large Greenough fins. Considered short for that period of time, they proceeded to influence everyone in the water with their maneuverability. In Phillip’s opinion, that was the day his whole outlook on surfing changed.
From 1969 until 1973, Phillips was in Rhode Island and Florida shaping boards. The 80’s were also spent in Florida making boards and constantly honing his craft. In 1993 Jim moved to the West Coast and started Jim Phillips Surfboards in Encinitas where he builds hand shaped boards of extraordinary quality. Jim is also often called upon to build vintage boards for movies. Recognized industry wide for his expert craftsmanship on both foam and wood boards, Jim is a non traditional shaper in that he is intimately involved with each step of the board building process. His wood designs, stringer work, handmade fins, and attention to detail translate into true rideable works of art.
