Sunset Shapers

I got a shaping lesson as a gift from the hubby and I LOVED IT. My lesson was with Gordon and I had a great experience with him. I learned so much about the process and Gordon was very thorough, explaining every step of the way and accommodating my many questions. If you are totally new to the process, Gordon will demonstrate how something is done but you will not always get to try it out. This is a good thing if you want a half decent board! He wants you to learn the skills but also walk away with a great board. It’s up to you to apply your new-​found skills on your own. Luckily, you can rent out the shaping room to do just that! The shop owner and shaper James is also very helpful and generous with his time and knowledge. I’m definitely a fan of this shop :)

I had bad experience there! Brought a board in for small ding repair and it took over 3 weeks before I got it back! It only take 2 weeks to make a new board! They said they would try to match the color but the repair was white telling me they didn’t try! Communication was weak since the chick who works there is rude, condescending, and not very service orientated if at all!
Overall dissatisfied and a let down since I though they’d Bend over backwards for new clientele and business… not! Being board builders I thought they’d knock this minor easy repair out in a couple of days or week at most! Lesson learned though, respect is earned not given as in the water! Should of used Alex Martins!

This review is for two things:
1) The ding repairs I’ve brought other boards in for. No complaints here, they’ve been great repairs, reasonably priced, and pretty timely. Amber and team are great to work with and they’ll get you and your board back in the water quick. I even dragged a board in that I figured was so far gone after an encounter with a jetty there was nothing to be done (which was pretty true) but they hooked me up with some foam pieces so I could try anyways and practice my new skills from:
2) shaping lessons with Gordon! My GF got me these for Christmas and it was an awesome experience. Really eye-​opening to how little I actually knew about surfboard design. Gordon really helped me through the process, from visualizing what I wanted to the actualization of the board. Note: while you’re going to work on the board, you won’t do the entire thing, I loved that Gordon really wants it to be a good/​functioning board, and knows when to let you do work and when he needs to step in. I feel these lessons set me up for when I’m ready to go in by myself and really shape one.
Stoked on this place as always.

Went to south east Asia to try the summer swells. Dropped my board to thus establishment. They promised that they can finish the board before I left. Lo and behold no calls no nothin. The board wasn’t even started. They had 3 weeks to work it. Needless to say I left without my board and had to rent one. If you want your board repaired. You’ve been warned.

So Bummed. The repair is so bad that when I told the girl that works there I would make sure and tell everyone that Sunset Shaper’s did the work… instead of saying awesome, thanks… she said «why are you threatening me?». grrrrrrrrr

Managed to get a new Wellman/​Nukumoi Surf Co. board safely from Kauai and it got dinged 10 years later in the house.
Sunset Shapers matched the color and turned the repair around in two weeks. They are one of the best for quality repairs! At Paly, I built fiberglass composite rudders for my racing sailboat and am impressed with Sunset Shapers outstanding work!

James is the MAN. He was very helpful and answered all of my questions. I am pleased with my purchase and cant wait to get into the water to try my new board. Customer service is great!

Why pay 700 bucks for an off the shelf board made by a machine at a factory someplace far away? For a similar price (often a bit less), you can get something made by hand with love right at OB. A few months ago, I decided I wanted a step up for when OB gets a little too juicy for the standard shortboard. After some searching on the internet, I found a pretty solid consensus that James Mitchell was the guy to talk to.
The first time I walked into the shop I was greeted right away. I mentioned I was thinking about getting a custom, and the lovely lady up front pulled James out of his foam cave in the back. I didn’t come in dead set on specific dimensions, just an idea of the conditions I would use it in, a description of my current skill level, and the size of my everyday board. James was very helpful and I never felt rushed or pressured. I told him I would take some time to digest it and come back if and when I was ready… About an hour later I was back in putting down a deposit.
Fast forward one month. I get a call that my board is done. The call came exactly two days after the estimated completion date. This is pretty amazing considering: 1) A custom board from start to finish in a month. 2) This happened to be in December /​early January, which means holidays and usually delays in everything. 3) Did I mention a custom board in a month?
Now… the board… So far I love it, and I can’t see that changing. It’s pretty much exactly what I wanted in terms of size/​shape, even though I didn’t know exactly what I wanted before I talked to James. Big enough to get me into some juicy OB, but I can still sink it to get through the endless pre-​surfing whitewater warm-​up session we all love. The dimensions James guided me to ended up being different than what I initially thought I might need, but I’m definitely glad I came in and took his advice (that’s sort of the purpose of getting a custom directly from the shaper). I also requested a strong glass job, and this thing feels damn solid, without being overly heavy. I already smacked my door with it on accident… the door was the unfortunate party in that exchange.
So what did I get out of this: A piece of local art. A board that does what I want it to. The satisfaction of knowing I’m supporting a local gem. The satisfaction of knowing I didn’t have to spend a ton of extra money over the alternative in supporting a local gem.

This place is a joke my board from this shop has been falling apart since I picked it up. these guys should go back to the crib

They did some repair work on one of my shortboards. New fin box, rail work, and a small buckle. Probably the best repair job I have ever had. They did an amazing job of matching the original shape and detail. Which is most important to me. Since then I have rode the board about three times, and no problems. Fair price and good turnaround.

I have had 2 custom boards shaped at sunset shapers over the last few years. Both times I was 110% satisfied. The shape was exactly what I was looking for, and even though I was Asking for intermediate /​less advanced boards, I was treated with respect throughout the entire process.
The owner, James, is a very respectable dude and stands behind his products. I once dinger my board real bad and brought it in to get patched up. For a very reasonable fee I got an absolutely flawless repair.
I am planning my next custom and it is a no brainier for me to go back to James /​sunset shapers. For roughly the same price as a new stock board you get a unique experience and a board tailored to your exact needs. Go see James and the gang at Sunset Shapers — you will be very happy you did!

The shaping lesson was great! Gordon is a natural at teaching and we turned out a board that works amazing. Really friendly crew all around. James’ glass job came out killer. 100% recommend these guys!

Sunset Shapers is in a league of it’s own. You can get your hands on locally shaped boards or take a swing at shaping your own. I have been surfing for most of my life and have wanted to shape a board for awhile now but lacked the space and start-​up knowledge to give it a try. James definitely went out of his way to explain the process, instruct me on tool use as well as layout the theory behind the board’s contours. I still have a little bit of work left to do on the board but I’m sure that thanks to James’ instruction and oversight that it will be a great board. Tyler and the other guys in the shop definitely make the place accessible and welcoming. I recommend anyone interested in surfing check out the shop and try shaping at least one board.

This surf shop changed my life. I was going through a bad time in my life when I happened to stop in after a surf off Noriega. I meet James (super cool guy) and we talked a while. Next week I was in the shaping room shaping my very own board. With some guidance from James my board came out amazing. My new board has so much love and soul build into it. Not some junk board from china. Now I’m surfing every day and my life has turned around. Last week I caught the best wave of my life.
Thanks Sunset Shapers

I wanted to give this place a try since I had heard good things about it.
20 years surfing in the bay area and this turned out to be one of the worst surfshop/​repair experiences I have had.
I dropped my board off and was told 2 weeks. I contacted the shop numerous times to get a status on the board over 2 months — the girl in the shop must be a family member/​girlfiriend or something because she is simply clueless. I got the board back after 8 weeks but had to hand it back because a finbox was put in backwards! The first repair also looked like the glassing was done with a butter knife. Owner seems like a nice guy but seriously no excuse for this.

I really liked this joint. Happened to be passing through when their little sidewalk reggae jam caught our eye. We met some cool people, bought some cool gear. Hope to make it back next time I’m in town.

Hands down, coolest shop in the city. And we’re not talking Mollusk artsy-​fartsy cool, we’re talking genuine, good olé fashioned good people cool.
James is a gem, and his team seems pretty cool too. Good merchandise selection for such a small spot, and they even have BBQs every 2^nd Sunday or so. Boards seem topnotch (mine is still being glassed) and the shaping class was worth every penny.
Don’t think, just go.

Walking into Sunset Shapers was the second time I walked into a surf shop and had it change my life. The first time I walked away with a teal and hot pink Local Motion shortboard with deck patches all over it. After going into Sunset Shapers, I walked away with a handcrafted, single fin, mini longboard that I made myself.
James, the owner/​master shaper, has put together the surf shop of the future right out surfing’s history. Sunset Shapers is just like what surf shops of the 1960’s used to be. It has a modest store front with surfboards, leashes, wax, shirts and, a dog named Olas, but In the back is where the magic goes down. A fully operational shaping room you can rent in four hour chunks, with all the tools you need to shape a board yourself. If you have no idea how it works, James offers lessons for a reasonable price. Either way, you end up surfing on a board you shaped yourself. If you don’t like to get dirty, James can shape you a custom board for the spot you love to surf the most.
If you’re like me and get bit by the bug so bad you start shaping in the living room of your one bedroom apartment, Sunset Shapers has everything you need to live the dream of becoming the next Robert August. You can order blanks right from James and He’ll make sure you get the right board for what you want to shape. Sunset Shapers carries resin, Q-​Cell, squeegees for glassing, fin boxes, even t shirts that subtly let your friends know you shape your own boards by hand.
Go down to Sunset Shapers, talk to James and help become a part of bringing surfboard shaping back into the hands of surfer/​shapers.

In addition to great custom boards, there is a great selection right off the shelf. The staff is really helpful, and is willing to give great advice on both boards and beaches. Sunset Shapers is a great addition to both the Sunset neighborhood and the surfing community.

James will build you just the board you are looking for, usually for cheaper than the mass-​produced boards you’ll find everywhere else. Quick turnaround to boot. Support local shapers!