Whether you call him the world’s nicest shaper or “Rob the Mega-Grom Action Figure”, Surfing Magazine’s Shaper of the Year winner Robert Weiner of Roberts Surfboards has more than his fair share of fans both through his incredible shapes as well as his energetic, infectious attitude in the lineup.
When we saw his North Shore trip unfolding on the Roberts Instagram a few weeks ago, we knew it was time to catch up with Robert and find out how the trip and his sleds went.
What put you on the North Shore and how long were you able to stay there and surf?
Our 13 year old super grom team rider, Eithan Osborne, asked me if I would chaperone him for five days of his stay at the Billabong Pipe house. I was stoked to go out there with him and see how his Roberts Beaver model and G Step Ups would work in some of the waves on the North Shore. His surfing and charging attitude really impressed me out there.
After Eithan’s mom flew over to be with him for the rest of his trip, I met up with long time team rider, Kellen Ellison. His family has a home at V Land and that’s where I spent my last three days on the North Shore. I stayed there for eight days total, did some R&D, and had a blast surfing with the locals and some of our team riders.
With you personally finishing up every board that comes out under your label, how did you get away from the factory during one of the busiest times of the year?
I simply shape my tail off before I leave and shape my tail off when I come home. I’m blessed to have an experienced factory crew that keeps production moving forward. They’re there working on airbrushing, glassing, sanding and wherever else they can to get the boards ready for our customers. And I also rely on my wife Laurie and Mick Cotton to keep the ball rolling and provide some of the best customer service in the business.
What’s your height, weight and age?
I’m 6’2″, weigh 205lb and I’m 52 years young!!
With how many waves you catch and how well you surf them, we gotta ask…”Are you juicing?”
Actually I do, I juice a lot of VEGETABLES. I lost about 10 LB in the three weeks leading up to my trip.
Anything specific you do to stay in good physical surfing shape?
I surf as much as possible, about three to four days a week. I try to watch my diet and I have been doing some surfing specific yoga style stretching and a few crunches. Our team rider Sean Hayes who works with Red Bull High Performance in Athlete Development taught me an exercise, we call the “Jump Up”. They’re surfer burpees and are great for core strength and speed. I do those when I can’t make it to the beach or when it’s flat.
What’s your California/Mainland Quiver these days?
Mutant 5’11″x 21 1/4″x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39.5
White Diamond 2 6’1″ x 20 7/8″ x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39+
The Dreamcatcher 6’2 1/2″x 20 5/8″x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39.54
El Tormenter 6’3″x 20 1/2x 2 3/4 Epoxy XTR SL-CK Construction LTR 39.35
Black Punt 6’4″x 20 1/4″x2 ¾” Epoxy / EPS Stringered LTR 38.89
GSD 6’5″ x 20 1/8″ x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39.24
G Step Up 6’8″x 20 1/8″x 2 7/8″ Epoxy/EPS Stringered LTR 39.90
What’s the biggest difference between Mainland Waves/Boards and Hawaii Waves/Boards?
Hawaiian waves have more power and are usually larger then Mainland waves. The boards I design for mainland waves are designed to create speed and the boards I design for Hawaii are designed to control speed.
How do you account for this when you’re designing/shaping?
Mainland boards have less rocker and wider outlines and wider tails. Hawaiian boards have more rocker and narrower tails. I have been working with Sean Hayes and tons of other riders on Hawaiian type boards for over 18 years now.
What was your North Shore Quiver this trip?
On this trip I brought some of the boards I ride at home to test them in Hawaiian conditions and I shaped some boards in case the waves got BIG.
(Left to Right in my Hawaii Quiver picture):
The Dreamcatcher 6’2 1/2″x 20 5/8″x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39.54
I surfed this board at OTW 3-4 foot backs, Rocky Point 2-5 foot backs and V Land 2-4 foot backs. It was nice to have The Dreamcatcher on this trip! It’s super fun to ride a shorter board in good waves and The Dreamcatcher allows me to do that.
GSD 6’5″ x 20 1/8″ x 2 3/4″ Epoxy RFT Construction LTR 39.24
I surfed this board at Backdoor & OTW 3-5 foot backs and Rocky point 2-5 foot backs. This board has extra rocker and was a great short board for this trip.
G Step Up 6’8″x 20 1/8″x 2 7/8″ Epoxy/EPS Stringered LTR 39.90
I surfed this board at Backdoor & OTW 3 -6 foot backs. The G Step Up handled the Hawaiian juice well and helped me get into waves early and allowed me to do some tight turns in the pocket. I also felt very comfortable riding the tube on it.
My bigger Hawaiian style boards are based off of magic Hawaii boards that I handshaped for Sean as far back as 1998. There was one 7’6″ pintail in particular that he would always want to take back to Hawaii, no mater how old and beat up it got. After multiple repairs and trips to Hawaii, I cloned the board into the computer and now we have quite a few versions of that board. The computer file name is Pin-Master Wide Tail. We don’t have this board on our website yet and haven’t even created a model name or logo. I love shaping them because of the feeling I get from knowing the big waves they’re gonna be on. If you’re going on a trip or lucky enough to need a board like this for your local surf, order it custom as the Pin Master Wide Tail. I make it in sizes from 6’8″ to 8’0″.
Pin-Master Wide Tail 7’2″ x 20x 2 7/8″ Epoxy/Eps 1/4 Stringer LTR43
Pin-Master Wide Tail 7’8″x20x 3″ Epoxy/EPS 1/4″ Stringer LTR 46
I didn’t get to ride the two bigger boards while I was in Hawaii. Unfortunately, it never got over 7′ backs which would be about 15′ on the mainland. There’s always next year. I can’t wait to go back!
Surf with Robert Weiner in Cape Hatteras, NC July 19th-20th
