Somma Special Designs

Somma Special Designs began in my backyard shed in 2008 with a desire to create and sample the many niche board designs from obscure corners in surfing that I had been curious to try for years. Hulls, logs and fishes were the first three areas of inquiry and I’ve been chasing the unique sensations offered by alternative designs ever since. I believe surfboards are conduits to experiences and I, as a shaper, have the privilege of guiding those experiences through the shapes I create. I believe in hand shaping as a creative practice that allows me to tune shapes to different riders at will, in the moment. Shaping by hand, for me, is a daily practice that is both supremely functional and personally gratifying. Different design attributes lead to different sensations in the rider, and the goal in creating a design is to conjure an array of sensations into a perfectly balanced board. Speed with control. Responsiveness with stability. Paddle power with sensitivity. Refined beauty with durability. The goal is to make beautiful hand made objects that function incredibly well and last decades. Let’s make something rad together!