We recently connected with Christopher Lisanti and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher, thanks for joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

Surfing used to be about the individual surfer and his geographic area. More specifically if a surfer buys his boards from a shaper who is local to that surfers area then that surfers boards can be tailored to that surfers specific needs.

Now that large nonsurfing conglomerates have bought up all the major brands they have put surfers into large biased groups thus forsaking the individual. Instead of making an surfer a board that he will use to surf better all the industry is doing is using expensive marking tactics to sell the latest thing in mass quantities.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started surfing in the early 90’s in Manasquan New Jersey at 9 years old. On the east coast surfboards we’re very difficult to come by or where too expensive for a kid like me to afford. So I’d buy cheap old beat up long boards from the 60’s and 70s and shape them down into boards that I could ride. I used to go to a marine supply store to buy boat fiberglass to coat them in.

Eventually I became an up and coming amateur surfer, followed by a professional surfing career in the early 2000’s. In that time span I was able to work with some of the best shapers from the US, Australia and even Brazil. When my pro career wound down I settled in Ventura CA.

A good friend of mine Gabriel Clark had recently learned to shape in 2014. His dad had recently died and he was a bit lost for direction but mentioned how much he enjoyed shaping surfboards. I decided to help him out and in May of 2015 we started Clark’s Surfboards.

In the beginning we were just having fun building boards for ourselves and close friends. Other surfers started to take notice and wanted boards as well. Soon we were producing upwards of 100 boards a year.

When the pandemic broke out business exploded, the whole surf industry did. There were all these people with government checks and no jobs to worry about. At that time Gabriel decided he no longer wanted to be part of Clarks Surfboards. He was suffering from chronic back pain and was in too much pain to production shape. At that time I took over as owner and shaper. Gabe still comes to the shop and shapes his own personal boards.

Since then I have been growing the brand using mostly social media and guerilla marketing campaigns. We have added a small clothing line and offer twenty or different surfboard models.

Currently we are launching a new marking strategy for the summer of 2024. Rather than just sell directly to the consumer we are also going to put our boards in surf shops in California, Florida, North Carolina and New Jersey.

On top of that we are planning on building our surf team nationally rather then just regionally. We are going to do surfboard demonstrations at popular beaches up and down the California coast.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

I had to buy out my old partner of Clarks Surfboards. It was very difficult cause the two of us were also very close friends making it difficult to come to a fair agreement and remain friends. Ultimately we worked out something both of us were happy with.

The hardest part for me was taking over full reign over all the responsibilities of the company. At the time we weren’t making enough to support me with out a full time job. I basically spent every moment I had when not at my full time job to keep the brand alive.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started Clark’s surfboards with a thrift store laptop, second hand shaping soft ware and the bare necessary tools. I was working full time as a high end event chef and any extra money I made for thrown straight into the business. Every penny the business earned went straight back to the business.

At the moment I’m about to invest a sizable chunk of my own personal savings for our new marketing campaign which will include stock board production, demo board production and the building of a larger team.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ClarksSurfboards.com
• Instagram: @clarks_surfboards
• Facebook: Clarks Surfboards
• Youtube: Clarks Surfboards

Image Credits
Christopher Dunlea