SURFER | 5 months ago
Zack Flores is as unique a surfer as you’re likely to find. Not only has he been building his own boards for 8 years, experimenting on the fringes of foam and then putting his craft to the test on a high level, but he’s also often riding those boards going switch. Crazy, right?
In the clip above, Flores test drives a few of his favorite handshapes in Mexico in truly ambidextrous fashion, riding them switch for the entirety of the trip. From a 5’3” twin fin fish (“I figured we’d be getting barreled and this board gets the job done”), to a 6’6” single fin pintail (“Rides like a skimboard, because I like to slide”), to a 7’0″ gun/shortboard hybrid (“A shortboard but with a huge nose”), Flores’ boards are an interesting bunch, but they obviously work, at least guided by his own feet (regardless of which one is forward).
As a surfer and a shaper, Flores cuts out the middle man. He can shape a board, test a board, and then jump right back in the shaping bay, able to put his field notes to foam immediately. “Every board I make is pretty much a new thought,” says Flores. “I use what I learn from each board to benefit myself on the next one.”
Filmed by Matt Paul and @endlssea
Edit by Alex Kilauano
