Mark Brown and Dave Vernor are partners. Their mission and passion is to build better surfboards. And you know what? Many people firmly believe that they do in fact accomplish this. It's an industry chock full of people and companies that make surfboards of every possible description, using all imaginable technologies. So how are the boards from Vernor Surfboards any better than other boards?

There are several reasons for this. Let me relate them to you in the words of some of the customers:

From Mike Detata:

"...[Dave] is probably the only shaper you will see out surfing on a consistent basis. He is always out surfing, testing new boards and getting feedback from guys riding his boards. This allows him to keep his finger on the pulse of the surfing community rather than reading about it in a magazine."

From Dustin:

"[Dave] listens. And, he shapes the exact board that I request. We work together to create boards that fit my style of surfing. And, since he knows my surfing style, when new stuff comes along that he thinks might work for my style I trust his judgement."

From Tim "Rasta" Sykes:

"Dave ... made ... my first suspension board. I instantly felt a new type of drive in the water and it rekindled the stoke ... The board loads up all the energy you absorb from the take off and then allows you to release it up the face where you want to. The board does not twist in [the] tail and therefore you do not lose speed when changing rails in between maneuvers. The suspension technology coupled with the new EPS foam has allowed me to get back to thinner, lighter, more performance boards and has definitely brought the stoke of surfing back into my life."

In February, I spent time with Mark Brown, the master glasser member of the team, and then Dave Vernor, the shaper and voice of the company. This week's Chronicle focuses on my visit and interview with Mark at the Vernor factory. In part 2, we'll visit with Dave as he kicks back at his house, with some friends and trusty dog Hailey. Dave was reflective and descriptive about his life, his passion, and his mission to build better surfboards. Click back to see that edition of the Chronicles in an upcoming week. This week, enjoy the stories and tales Mark related as we toured the Vernor Surfboard factory.

DogMan: I'm talking with Mark Brown and Cory at the surf factory where they make Vernor surfboards. Mark and DogMan shared a surf trip to Baja back in 2001.
Mark Brown: Did you go on that trip to that place north of Mazatlan? Because that trip, and those pictures, they looked really good. That was a really good trip.

DM: I think I've been to that place like six years in a row now, but I doubt I am going to go back. Interestingly enough, it's a full-service camp. They guy who runs it, Natty, he's really in the hospitality business, and guess what? It's in Mexico. If the customers want waves, he'll get you waves. If the customers want deep-sea fishing, he'll take you fishing. If you want a prostitute, he'll get you a prostitute.
MB: Woh!

DM: And what finally broke the recipe, at least for a couple guys on the last trip is, one guy decided he wanted to smoke a lot of dope, so Natty got him a bag of pot. Now to me, this is not such a big deal, I mean you can get that easily enough right here in Santa Cruz. But some of the guys on the trip had like, outraged sensibilities, so I don't think we are going back. But we had some great times and good waves down there. It was cool.
MB: I don't know how you guys found that place.

DM: Actually, I found it, and it didn't take even that much research. Mark, how did you get to know Dave?
MB: Oh hell, I've been building boards with Dave since many years ago, like 20 years or something. It's been a very long time.

DM: I know you do some glassing on the side for a few buds of mine like Steve and Mike, when they shape one of their own boards. But I know for one, that Mike is now a Vernor convert.
MB: Yeah [chuckles] he won't be shaping too many of his own any more.

[Showing me the shop...]

When we're working downstairs with epoxy, the only fan we have on is this one up here. It sucks just a little bit of the air through that room. Normally we blast the air through that room, but epoxy likes a warmer temperature. We try not to change the air in that room as rapidly when we are doing epoxy as we do if we are doing polyester. Because what happens is, epoxy likes heat. So we have to heat the room, and we don't want to blow all the heat out. But at the same time we do need to change the air a little bit; it's not the most environmentally friendly stuff to be living in all day.

DM: Well I see you guys are wearing masks.
MB: Yeah, but epoxy isn't stopped by these masks. The health problems are different with epoxy, and these masks do you no good.

DM: What's the story with this shaping bay?
MB: That's Vernor's shaping bay. This is where the man does his magic.

DM: And Mark is breaking all rules by even showing this to me.
MB: Oh no. Nothing secret in this place. Right now Mike's new board is the one Dave is working on.

DM: Lots of pictures on the walls, and there are two themes that I can see. It's like surfers, and the other is naked chicks.
MB: Yeah, primarily one, Brook Burke. You can see Shania Twain is up there on the top, but that was like yesterday's girl.

DM: So Brook is the girl of the moment.
MB: Yeah.

DM: So how long does a boom box keep running in an environment like this?
MB: Actually that one has lived a long time. I mean, he doesn't use it as a CD player, just a radio.

DM: The CD player would probably die.
MB: I'm sure it's already dead.

DM: How about this room?
MB: This is another shaping bay. This one is for guests. This is like where, if Detata wanted to shape a board, or Steve wanted to shape a board they could come in here and shape them.

DM: I don't know, but haven't those guys done their own shaping in their back yards?
MB: They have sometimes, yes.

DM: And my guess there is, you are probably endangering your relationship with your wife.
MB: That's right.

DM: Unless maybe she surfs too.
MB: But even then. Really the guys that get in the most trouble are the ones that try to glass them in their garage.

DM: Well that's why they come see you, right?
MB: That's right. That's where I got a business.

DM: Do you bring those boards here to glass them or do you do that out of your house?
MB: I do all the glassing here, so they get a professional glassing job. They may shape it in their garage, but the glass job is professional.

DM: I think Detata is out of that business. I bought from him that mango colored fish that he shaped. You know that retro twin fin job? And I've had a lot of fun with it so far, but I don't think he is in the shaping business anymore. He really enjoys the board he got from you guys.
MB: Well, Vernor is able to bring a certain level of expertise that backyard shapers aren't able to do. A lot of backyard shaped boards can be fun, but once you get good enough you might really appreciate the subtle differences between a professional shape and a backyard shape.

DM: Well I think there's a certain amount of luck in a backyard shape. You did it right once, but that doesn't mean anything. The next one might be a piece of crap. Whereas you guys are experts at what you are doing, and you can crank them out and get a more deterministic outcome. You know, match the shape to the surfer. And then the technology you offer with the suspension system and the fins. Oh yeah, and the little finger... what does Dave call it?
MB: Oh yeah, the deck ditches.

DM: Yeah, the deck ditch, which is a pretty cool feature I think. Doesn't that make it harder to glass the board?
MB: It makes it harder to glass it, but nothing like this one, though [shows a bi-level deck board shaped by Randy Cone]

DM: Are there a lot of Vernor boards up in the waves at Mavericks?
MB: No there are not. This one is shaped by Randy Cone. We've got four of them in here, two of them will get Future Fins, and two will have glassed in fins. Randy Cone is really into Mavericks. He rides these himself, and he has a lot of customers who ride there too.

DM: And this one looks like a wake board.
MB: That one is actually for behind the boat. You know they actually surf the wake behind the boat. They don't just tow or bounce around in the area behind the boat. They actually surf the wake.

DM: And they can benefit from the suspension system as well?
MB: Yeah. They are already a pretty short board because the wave is pretty short, and pretty small. And you're right behind the boat when you start to plane on the water.

DM: Have you ever wake surfed Mark?
MB: Yeah I have. If you have a good boat driver you can get up the first time, but the first time out I didn't get up.

DM: How many folks work here at the shop?
MB: Well let's see. There's myself and Vernor, and Cory and Justin. That's about it.

DM: Four full time?
MB: Well Justin is a part-time sander. Sometimes he works and sometimes he doesn't. We're his spare change.

[At the office]

DM: This is where the command center is, and you have the Red Bull... This is pretty cool. Do you have any stories or weirdnesses of being in business here?
MB: You know, not too much out here. Too bad it's not in Santa Cruz in some ways, but out here it's a very friendly work environment.

DM: So Mark, have you traveled for surf, been to Indonesia or surfed in Bali?
MB: I've been to Bali, but I didn't really surf in Bali. I just had a bad trip, let's put it that way. We stayed over in Santrian, when the waves are over on the other side on the Bukit Peninsula. So we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And we didn't have a car, and I was with my wife who doesn't surf. She said to me "Oh you want to go surfing? Sure, but just hurry it up."

Actually we went to New Guinea on our big surf trip. Now that was a great trip. I always wanted to go back there, that was really fun. Maybe one of these days; it's a long trip. We got to surf in Australia in Brisbane and Noosa Heads for a week before we went to New Guinea.

We got to Noosa just in time for the first storm of the season, so everybody was just like totally stoked. It was going off! The day we arrived it just started breaking from this big hurricane that was blowing offshore, and we got very wet. But, what the hell, that's what you are there for.

DM: As far as surf boards and your customers, what's popular these days? What's a big seller in 2009?
MB: We are doing a lot of four fin boards.

DM: I see a lot of them in the water, have you surfed one?
MB: I do ride a four fin, but not in the new style. I ride a twinzer. The new thing is set up differently. I've ridden them and a lot of people seem to like them.

DM: So all the tail configurations and rockers and so on, do they all work with four fins or do you have to modify the basic shape to work with them?
MB: You know, I think Vernor should answer that question.

DM: That's cool, I need to save a few questions for Dave. He's an interesting guy. I got that one good shot of him out at . He was like racing the sea gulls. So he asked me, "How do you get those sea gulls in the picture?" And I'm like "Hey, just try keeping those birds out of the shot!"

Maybe I'll give him a call. I think he's back at his place in town.

CU Out There,

DogMan