T. Patterson’s New Zealand shaper, Simon Jones, builds the mini quiver that would lead to Italo Ferreira’s success at Raglan’s Manu Bay for stop number 4 of the WSL World Championship Tour.
It was an ordinary day in the Ghost Industries shaping bay for Simon – working through his list of custom T.Patterson orders – when he had a knock on the door of his Papamoa shaping bay.
“I was grinding laps in the shop when a guy poked his head in, so I went out to talk — and standing behind him was Italo,” Simon laughs. “I’m pretty sure I was blushing like a schoolgirl at prom.”
“I was grinding laps in the shop when a guy poked his head in, so I went out to talk — and standing behind him was Italo. I’m pretty sure I was blushing like a schoolgirl at prom.”
Italo was hoping to grab some boards off the rack, but Simon did not have much stock, and had nothing in Italo’s size.
“He was after something totally different to what he’s been riding the last couple of years – the Synthetic 84 in PU construction,” Simon explains. “I had nothing in his size — 5’8” and 26L. He was pretty disappointed at first, until I told him I could have a board ready in 24 hours. After that, he was pumped.”
Twenty-four hours to shape two boards is ambitious to say the least. The pressure was on for Simon.
“The process was a little different to what I’m used to,” Simon recalls. “The only dims I got were length: 5’8″ Synthetic 84 and 5’9 1/2″ in the All In. I had a quick call with Timmy, and we locked in Italo’s standard dims for each model, then bumped the volume up ever so slightly. We also talked a bit about construction — 3/4 patch and wide laps for strength.”
Timmy knew how nervous Simon was and put his mind at ease by telling him a story about Italo arriving in Japan with no boards, borrowing one of Felipe’s, and winning his heat.
“Building the boards, I knew I couldn’t afford any mistakes, so I took my time,” Simon smiles. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast – no mistakes.”
“Building the boards, I knew I couldn’t afford any mistakes, so I took my time. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast – no mistakes.”
Simon arrived at Italo’s place around 11am on Thursday to hand over the new boards.
“I love delivering boards and seeing people’s faces light up — Italo was no different,” Simon shares. “He seemed genuinely stoked. But then I felt his regular boards for the first time and realised his rails were much lower and a lot softer. I immediately thought, ‘Uh oh, have I made a mistake?’ But he assured me he liked what he was feeling.”
After delivering the boards, Italo didn’t have all his sponsor stickers, so he and Simon made a couple out of tape and drew the rest on.
“Then we headed down to Manu Bay so he could test them,” Simon recalls. “On his first wave, he fell straight away. Second wave, he fell after a couple of turns, and I thought I’d made a couple of duds. Then, on his third wave, he absolutely ripped it, and after that, he looked like he couldn’t fall. He tried the other one, and it looked good too — I finally started to relax. If he chose to ride my boards in the heats, I’d done all I could. The rest was up to him.”
“On his first wave, he fell straight away. Second wave, he fell after a couple of turns, and I thought I’d made a couple of duds. Then, on his third wave, he absolutely ripped it, and after that, he looked like he couldn’t fall.”
The T. Patterson Synthetic 84 is designed for smaller conditions — it’s flatter, wider, and has more volume — but Simon admitted it was not a typical CT board.
“He probably shouldn’t have ridden it in the quarters against Miguel, but he’d been loving the Synthetic, so stuck with it,” Simon explains. “For the last day, the bigger, better conditions were much better suited to the All In.”
Simon admitted that pros were notoriously picky about their boards.
“I had two chances to get him one he liked, and he liked them both. That’s a great feeling and very validating for me.”
Watching Italo’s heats was extra nerve-wracking for Simon.
“I was a little nervous for the Kanoa and Miguel heats, but for the Yago semi-final – I was a mess — absolutely shitting myself,” Simon admits. “And for it to go on hold like that … I think that was a definitive moment.”
Simon said finals day was insane to watch.
“It’s not that crazy that he won — he’s Italo Ferreira — but the fact that he did it on boards I made in roughly 24 hours? I’m still processing that,” Simon smiles.
The WSL broadcast saw commentator Ronnie Blakey go into great detail about the relationship between Italo and the newly shaped boards by the local T. Patterson shaper, Simon Jones.
“A few of the crew told me I got a shout-out, which was awesome,” Simon recalls. “But what really got me was the support from the local crew. Everyone was congratulating me like I’d won the event myself, and they seemed genuinely happy for me.”
The local commentators also drilled into the boards Italo was riding after his win.
“I really felt the love,” Simon smiles. “I’m hoping this helps pump up the brand and gets Kiwis excited about riding locally made boards.”
To hit his deadline, Simon had to focus fully on the two boards dominating his mind, but now, after the event, he’s back to grinding laps.
“I put everything on hold to rush those two boards,” he offers. “I’ve got crew heading to Indo at the end of the week and boards that are pushing close to six weeks lead time. Those guys probably have a few raised eyebrows – ’24 hours for two boards, but mine takes 6 weeks?'”
Like most Kiwis who watched Italo tear up Manu Bay as it had never been surfed before, Simon reckons his local clients will understand the importance of prioritising the former World Champion and six-time top 5 WCT finisher.