Chris Christenson (surfboard shaper)
| Chris Christenson | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 14, 1973 Whittier, California |
| Residence | Cardiff by the Sea and Swall Meadows |
| Education | Point Loma Nazarene University |
| Occupation | Surfboard shaper |
| Years active | 25+ |
| Known for | Surfboard Shaping, Surfing, Snowboarding, designing surfboards and other products in the Action Sports industry |
| Notable work | Greg Long’s two-time big wave world champion |
| Title | Surfboard Shaper |
| Website | http://christensonsurfboards.com/ |
Chris Christenson (born May 14, 1973, Whittier, CA) is an American surfboard shaper, craftsman, and outdoor enthusiast.
Born and raised in Southern California, Chris’ passion for surfing began at a young age. When Chris wasn’t surfing the local beach breaks between Seal Beach and Newport Beach, he was exploring the snow at his grandparents’ cabin in the San Bernardino mountains, or was teeing up on the Long Beach Navy golf course. Growing up, Chris would often watch his next door neighbor shape surfboards in his garage, but it wasn’t until Chris was 18 and on a golf/academic scholarship at Point Loma Nazarene University that he bought his first surfboard blank, borrowed his neighbor's tools, and shaped his first board – a moment that would forever propel him down a path of most resistance.
In 1992, Chris’ shaping career began with a six-year apprenticeship to shaping legend, Dick Brewer. It was perfecting the skill of shaping boards under Brewer, and the influence of his then neighbor, Skip Frye, that solidified Chris’ abilities to design and shape any size surfboard, which would later open the door to shaping big wave guns for the world’s best big wave surfers, including two-time world champion, Greg Long. A reputation for being a punk rock, forward thinker, with a connection to the past, Chris’ ability to craft diverse surfboards lead him to making big wave guns for good friend, and Todos Santos charger, Johnny Walla, and other heavy hitters like Brad Gerlach, Greg Long, Rusty Long, the Walsh brothers, Mark Healy, Danilo Couto, and Damien Hobgood. Chris is not only known for his ability to craft 10’ guns for big wave surfing’s elite, but for shaping some of the best long and short boards in the industry – for long boarders like Scotty Stopnik, Mitch Abshere, and filmmaker Mikey DeTemple, to short boarder Sterling Spencer.
Chris’ passion for the outdoors is as deep-rooted as it can be in Southern California. When he wasn’t in school or surfing, Chris spent every free moment of his childhood at his grandparent’s cabin in the San Bernardino mountains. Feeling the congruity between snowboarding and surfing, Chris’ passion didn’t end on the mountain. Through the surf industry and snowboarding, Chris became close friends with famed big mountain rider, Jeremy Jones. Based on their love of backcountry snowboarding and surfing, Chris and Jeremy began a collaboration to create a snowboard that captured the congruence of snowboarding and surfing. Born of Chris and Jeremy’s surf/design partnership was the well-received ‘storm chaser’- a swallowtail with a surfboard rocker and the ability for tight turns on groomers or in the deepest powder.
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Wikipedia