Boc Boards

If you haven't come across Biel from Boc Boards in Mallorca, Spain, you're in for a treat.  We love Biel's experiemental style, with his boards, with his resin work...and with his stonework.  Yes, you read correctly - check out his Instagram!  He's also done some very sweet resin work incorporating our Glass On fins - it's all pretty inspiring stuff.

We sent Biel our Shaper Stories questions to find out a bit more about him and his boards...

Tell us where you’re from and where you’re based.

I'm from Mallorca, one of the Balearic Islands in Spain, and currently I have my workshop at Capdepera, a village in the north east of the island.

What inspired your logo/brand name?

My brand name is Boc, which means a male goat in Mallorquí.  The boc of Mallorca is a land animal which you can find on the sea cliffs - it's a very Mallorcan animal!  The logo started out as the image of a goat, but right now I don't put a logo on my boards as they're handmade, so I prefer to do a drawing rather than put a logo as such.

Tell us a bit about how, when and why you got into shaping.

Well, I shaped my first board at 21 - it was part of the final project of my fine arts degree in Galicia.  I made it with pita or American aloe wood which I had to collect.  It's a very romantic material as it's the stem of a flower, and it only grows when the plant is about to die. During the lamination process I was helped out by Walter, shaper of Zorlak Surfboards, to whom I'll always be grateful to (in fact, I owe him a sculpture!).  

At 23, I met Boris Bugarski whilst working at Raz Surf Camp, and it was the best thing I could have happened to me, as Boris opened the doors of his house and workshop to me - he became my maestro!  First I watched how he made a board, then he made half and I made half, and then he left me to it and told me to shape one myself and he'd guide me through it.  I spent an entire year with him, it was an incredible time for me, I was living what had seemed an impossible dream as a child.  If you read this Boris, I love you!!

[You can read Boris from B.Bugarski Surfboards' Shaper Story here.]

What kind of boards do you mostly shape?

I love shaping more retro boards, above all fishes - I like making the boards I like to surf, as I imagine they're for me when I'm making them!  I usually shape singles, twin fins, and the odd longboard.  I like to make them well, hardy, so they'll have a long life, with their extra patches and gloss.

What’s your preferred fin set up to a) shape and b) surf?

I started with trifins, and then moved on to single fins, but without a doubt I prefer a twin fin.  Right now it's what I usually surf, and when it comes to shaping, it's the same, I like making twin fins as then I can imagine they're for me.

Best tip for the budding shaper?

Make yourself a board and ride it!

What’s been the most memorable board you’ve ever shaped & why?