MEET THE RIDER

This 7’4” Wing Fish was shaped for a legendary surfer based in Amami Oshima.
He has been interested in surfboard shaping for many years.

The blank used for this board was also his own, a rare piece of Clark Foam that he had carefully kept for a long time.

The starting point for this board was the 7’2” Semi-Gun that Shinnosuke shaped at the T-REEF Shape Workshop in 2025.

The roots of that board go back even further.
In 1972, Dick Brewer shaped a 7’2” Semi-Gun for me.

More than 50 years later, Shinnosuke shaped his own 7’2” based on that design.

The owner of this board saw Shinnosuke’s 7’2” and asked me to shape one for him.

A design from 1972.
A Shape Workshop in 2025.
A new custom board in 2026.

But this 7’4” is not simply a larger version of the 7’2”.

The design philosophy is the same.
The surfer is different.

WHAT WE BUILT

THE DESIGN STORY

The Same Water Flow, Rebuilt for an 80 kg Surfer

There was one thing I wanted to keep from the 7’2”.
The way water moves through the board, and the fundamental feeling it creates.

Water enters from the nose, moves through the bottom and continues toward the tail. The board controls that water through the entire length before allowing it to release naturally.

Glide → Acceleration → Hold → Release

That idea remains the same in this 7’4”.
But the surfer weighs around 80 kg.

Simply making the 7’2” bigger would not create the same feeling.

I wanted to keep the design philosophy, while changing the volume and balance to make it work for a different surfer.

Volume Is Not Just Flotation

An 80 kg surfer needs enough flotation.
But adding flotation does not simply mean making the board thicker.

For me, the important question is:

Where do I keep the volume?
And where do I take it away?

On this 7’4”, I adjusted the outline, foil and rails while keeping enough volume to support the surfer.

A heavier surfer also puts more force into the board.
If the board reacts too quickly to that force, the feeling changes.

I was not looking for a quick response.
I wanted a smooth response.

The surfer moves.
The board responds.

And that movement continues naturally into the next line.

Flotation → Stability → Response

They are not separate elements.
They are part of the same design.

Down Rail × Wing Fish

For this board, I combined a Down Rail with a Wing Fish Tail.

The Down Rail allows the board to engage the face of the wave and maintain hold.

The Wing changes the outline before the tail, narrowing the tail area and allowing the surfer to control the board from the back foot.

This becomes important on a 7’4” with this amount of volume.
But again, I was not trying to make the board overly quick.

Hold without being sticky.
Response without being twitchy.

That was the balance I was looking for.

Single Box + 2 Plugs

The fin setup is a Single Box + 2 Plugs.

The board can be ridden as a Single Fin, with the option of adding side fins depending on the waves and the surfer’s preference.

The setup can change the way the board feels.
But it does not change the basic water flow built into the board.
The character of the board remains.

The fins simply give the surfer more ways to explore it.

A PIECE OF CLARK FOAM

There is another story inside this board.

The owner had kept this Clark Foam blank for 20 years. Clark Foam was part of surfboard building for decades before closing in 2005.

This blank remained.

In April 2026, during an Open Shape in Amami Oshima, I finally shaped it into this 7’4” Wing Fish.

To me, it was not simply an old piece of foam.
The owner had been interested in shaping for a long time.
He had kept this blank all those years.

And now, it became a custom surfboard shaped for him.

A piece of history became a new surfboard.

PASSING DOWN THE DESIGN, NOT COPYING THE SHAPE

The 7’2” and the 7’4” come from the same design philosophy.
But they are not the same board.

I did not copy the shape of the 7’2”. I kept the way I wanted the water to move through the board and the feeling I wanted that movement to create. Then I rebuilt everything around the surfer who would ride it.

When I shape a custom board, I think in this order:

Surfer → Wave → Design

Who is going to ride it?
What kind of waves will they surf?
What are they looking for?

From there, the volume, outline, foil, rails, rocker and tail begin to take shape.

The same design philosophy does not have to create the same surfboard.

In 1972, Dick Brewer shaped a 7’2” Semi-Gun for me.
In 2025, Shinnosuke shaped his own 7’2” from that design at the T-REEF Shape Workshop.
Then, in April 2026, in Amami Oshima, that board led to another.

A Clark Foam blank that had been kept for years became a:

7’4” Wing Fish.

I don’t believe a design is passed down by copying its shape.

You understand why it was shaped that way.
You understand how the water moves through it.
And then you shape it again for the next surfer.

After more than 50 years of shaping, this is still something I believe in.

Same philosophy.
A different surfer.
A new board.

Natural Motion. Ride on!

WANT TO ORDER YOUR BOARD?

Every T-REEF Surfboard is fully hand-shaped.
Each board is designed from scratch around your:

✔️ Surfing style
✔️ Body type
✔️ The way you want to surf
→ Learn more about our custom board process