Elton Fursman - Bilt Master Shaper, aged 33.
From the humblest of beginnings that included cutting his first plan-shape out with a bread knife, Bilt shaper Elton Fursman has emerged out of Africa as one of the finest and technically skilled shapers in the world.
Local surfers soon realized what he was making and how it could rapidly improve their surfing. Shaping for 14yrs, 8 of which for professionals, Elton has been toiling in the shaping bay, putting all these surfers on the best boards possible, enabling them to win events, to make prize money, to get onto the WCT, to get towed into giant waves and to paddle into monster surf. He’s made boards that have seen Davey Weare win the Oakley Big Air and Jason Ribbink win the Oakley Big Wave. He has put Travis “Trent” Logie and Davey Weare on the Championship Tour. He has enabled Chad Du Toit and Damian ‘Dooma’ Fahrenfort, to clean up the junior categories for years. He has enabled Dane Michael “Patto” Patterson to walk out of his office, arrive at the beach, paddle out, and nonchalantly win a top PST event. Elton is a quiet, hard-working perfectionist who has dedicated himself to the pursuit of making perfect boards.
In order to keep on top of his game in the fast-moving field of board design and material evolution, Elton travels the world, going to surf expos, working under international shapers, studying templates and infusing all his knowledge into the boards he makes for what is arguably the best surf team in South Africa. Matt Biolos, for one, has constantly guided Elton and directed him to be one of the top shapers in the world.
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When Elton isn’t in the bay working on new designs or plotting with pen and paper about some area of surfboard design, he can be found with Jason designing a new small wave shooter, or a board for the bigger surfer, or a board that’s going to go unreal in barelling conditions. And when that’s finished Elton will be down on the beachfront, videocam in hand, filming Davey and Trent, Chad and Dooma, to analyse their surfing and to work out what improvements could be made to suit their particular styles of surfing. With a 100% commitment and dedication to the team and their results, and with the passion of wanting the best surfers stoked with their equipment, Elton is the vital link in a system that is making champions out of South African surfers from both hand shaped and computer CAD DSD shaped crafted surfboards. |
