Proctor Surfboards

When did you start your business?

1992, also the same year I started shaping.

Do you consider the location of your shop a key factor to the business’s success?

Not really since we are in a light industrial area where there’s not much foot traffic. And since our primary focus is on the individual surfer and the custom approach to design, our scope is really worldwide. We are designing boards for surfers all over the earth. Surfers that are stoked on what we specialize in know where to find us. Some come and visit us in Ventura at our factory showroom where you can set up an appointment to talk to the shaper about what will be the best board to take you to the next level. You can also check us out online at www.proctorsurf.com and see all the different board models, learn more about our company and how we build boards; even get an interactive factory tour and see how boards are made from start to finish.

Who is your average buyer?

Everybody from a knee high squawkboxer to a brawny pipe walker....everybody that is looking for a board made with the highest quality and performance and who wants to interact directly with the shaper so they get the board that is going to be best for them and the waves they surf.

If a total Barney walks in do you treat him with the same respect as a full on loc?

Yes, definitely. That’s what Jesus would do and He’s the MAN.

What is the dumbest question a customer has ever asked?

Don’t know, been a lot of funny ones, but no question is a dumb question as long as it is asked with genuine intent to really want to know something.

Do you have a mascot (ex. - An animal that roams freely throughout the building)?

Nope, but one of my team riders has a dog he brings over with him. I think it’s an Australian cattle dog or something like that, and it likes to take poops in the showroom. The team rider then gets to clean it up spick and span.

What is the craziest return a customer has ever tried to make?

People are pretty dang stoked man, I can’t think for any real silly thing like that. Oh wait, one time a guy did ask me if I would trade a big bag of weed for a board, but I told him that I don’t smoke weed anymore cause it opens your mind up to a spiritual demonic realm that seems real fun for while, but in the end robs you and steals from you and lies to you about what reality really is. So we had no deal.

Does your store support any local surfers or have a surf team?

Yep, pretty much I make boards for so many different types of surfers, and they all get the same personal attention and same attention to quality and detail on their boards so everybody getting a board from us is on the team, but even cooler than that. It’s like one big family sort of thing. It’s pretty sick, but we do get a lot of traveling pros and high profile cutting edge surfers that tee up with us for equipment.

What is your most annoying grom story?

Groms are killer. They are amusing not annoying.

Have you ever had any type of celeb roll in and make a purchase?

Well a lot surfers on tour, but if you mean outside the surf industry, yea, a rapper....um what’s his name? Dr. Dre got a performance nose rider.

Have you ever pulled a hot chick/guy solely due to the fact that you own/manage a surf shop?

Well, I’ll say this; I got the hottest and realest girl in the world as my wife, and it had nothing to do with owning a surfboard factory.

How many days a week do you surf now compared to before you owned/managed a surf shop?

I used to surf like three times a day and go on surf trips all the time, but now I get to surf when the waves are good and sometimes when the waves are bad too if I just got oa go surfing you know.

Who is your favorite surfer why?

Tom Curren. His surfing changed the sport forever and pushed it in the direction it is today. You can still see the lines he laid down guiding the best surfers today. And his sick style.

Has a customer trying on clothes ever walked out completely naked?

No.

Has a person ever walked in totally blitzkrieged (really intoxicated) and tried to make a purchase?

No.

Every store has to deal with shoplifting. What is your most memorable experience and what is your shoplifting policy?

I chased a kid for blocks who had grabbed a board. He had his friends waiting in a getaway car a few blocks away and the kid had a mask on and was holding a can of mace ready to spray anybody who tried to stop him. Well, his mask got all crookedy when he was running and he couldn’t see and was running all curvy and weird so he had to take it off. I had cut a corner on him and got in between him and his “getaway” ride. He got all frustrated and was waving the mace can at me saying he was going to spray me in the face if I tried to get him. I told him I had seen his face and had the license plate on his friend’s car memorized, so the best thing he could do would be to put the board down gently, get in the car and leave and that I would let it go. But that if he tried to steal the board that I would contact the police with the license number and from there we would find him and I would i.d. him and press full charges.....he put the board down gently and got in the car and bailed. That pretty much sums up my policy for shoplifting also.

And last but not least tell us one of the craziest shop stories you can remember?

I don’t know how crazy this is, but it’s kind of neat. One of our local waves here was going off looney bins mental this one summer and pros were showing up out of the woodwork trying to get in to this full on high security military spot to pull into these dredging tubes. Well, I had this one pro dude who was like a mid-ranked WQS guy who I had made a board for....and I just knew this board was magic. Well this WQS guy was being really negative and whining about the board I had made him. I got tired of his attitude and took the board back from him. I was pretty bummed cause I had worked hard on that board to super dial it in and had been really excited that is was something special. Well, as God would have it, the day after I get this board back from the WQS whiner guy.....guess who walks into the factory showroom... Jaime O’brien cruises into the factory trippin having just buckled his only board and frantic cause his other boards that were supposed to have arrived got lost in shipping or something like that. So I take him over to the rack and guess which board I grab....yep the board I just got back from the WQS whiner guy. I say to Jaime, “This board is magic and I think you’ll go looney on it.” And guess what, he ended getting in to surf that sick gaping barrel spot I told you about....and he went absolutely mental-patient out there and blew everybody away getting spit out of ridiculously deep shacks time and time again.....and ends up getting sick shots, video, etc.......just slays it. People were trippin’ and talking about his session there for long time. Jaime said he was going to keep riding the board and would try to get some more shots on it for me....pretty cool. ....About a month later, he e-mailed to say that he had just gotten his best contest result ever on the board and that it was magic. So it just went to show me that when you do your best at something, not everybody will always be patting you on the back, but the people that are meant to be a synergy and an encouragement will cross your path and themselves be blessed in the process. There are actually a bunch of stories I have of stuff like that that happens here at the Proctor factory. It’s really exciting and oftentimes makes me feel like I’m not the one who’s really pulling the strings on what goes on here.