Jimmy-Collin_Web

Putting wake boarding and wake surfing aside, what year did you start mowing foam?
1978

After your first board was complete did you know from then on shaping was your future?
I always knew I wanted to make things. Shaping showed me to see an idea come to life with your own hands.

Shaping is no overnight success and a lot like being an artist, were there times where you weren’t sure if you’d have food to eat the next day?
There were lots of times where you just have to believe and keep at it.  And there were several times where I had to start all over again with a new company.  The key is finding a way to get your boards out there for people to ride. It ultimately requires working with talented athletes that push your designs, and great partners & stoked sales people to grow and succeed.   

After years and years of hard work and wake line after wake line a little activity called wake surfing bloomed, what motivated you to start shaping wake surfboards?
Surfing came before everything.  I surfed behind my dad’s outboard as kid way before I ever put straps on a wakeboard.  What is so great now is that surfing and everything have evolved to a point where ideas and influences come from everywhere.  People are willing to experiment with new designs and boat wakes have such a solid push now.  Shaping wake surfboards is fun because of the creative freedom to try everything. 

What materials are trending right now to make wake surfboards lighter, faster and stronger?Most high-end boards are now EPS cores with epoxy glassing for strength.  There are also lots of technical fabrics that use materials like Carbon and Innegra which can lighten up the board, control flex, and offer greater impact strength of the deck.

What is the most important thing to take into consideration when shaping a board?
The rider of the board – their ability and the way they want to ride determine what shapes will work best for them.

How big of play do fins have in making a board work or not work?
Fins can make a big difference because you use them for drive, projection, and control.  Simply changing their size, shape or placement can completely alter the way a board feels. I would encourage everyone riding surf-style to play with different fins to experience how it can affect their riding.  For skim-style shapes, fins are also very important but in a more subtle way because their sizes are much smaller, and these boards are designed to be much looser on the water.

To date, what is your favorite wake surfboard you have shaped?
I really like the Pod because of the way its more parallel outline and lowered rocker lets you ride a shorter, narrower, and quicker board with plenty of speed and maneuverability.

Since day one, board one how many boards (including wake boards) have you shaped?
I’ve shaped around 3000 – 3500 boards since I started.

We have to ask… wake boards or wake surfboards?
It’s all BOARDS!  I just love making boards and getting people stoked on riding.