COSTA AZUL SURF SHOP

For more information, contact:
Alejandro Olea at 011-52 (624) 142-2771
or info@costa-azul.com.mx

Board out of his mind
Alejandro Olea goes supernatural on his signature surfboard design

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico (Fall 2006) — They say looking good isn’t everything, but in Alejandro Olea’s world, it’s close. At Olea Surf Company, the only thing that trumps good looks is performance, and Costa Azul Surf Shop has a quiver of Olea Signature Boards that will blow your mind.

“We’re always trying new things,” Olea says. “We’re always thinking and talking about ways that we can make a board faster, more hydrodynamic, more modern or more classic. And then we test it. If it’s good, we make more.”

What started as a trial-and-error shaping and ding repair business in 1986 on Costa Azul beach is now Southern Baja’s pre eminent surf shop and board maker. Olea and his handpicked team of shapers craft 30 to 40 boards each month, 10 percent of which are custom board designs. The remaining boards are used for sale and rentals, assuring that Costa Azul’s gleaming stock of rental boards is constantly refreshed.

Olea, a man of few words, is best understood by a visit to his workshop. Tucked among the winding barrio streets of San José del Cabo and hidden behind a massive steel gate, Olea’s workshop opens up on a tree-shrouded courtyard and a two-story red brick building that looks more like a stately hacienda than a surfboard artist’s studio. However, the quiet tree-cleaned air and the sheer tidiness of the place—even quivers of boards are deliberately arranged in sleek rows—evoke a sense of artistic precision. At once, the workshop reveals a rush of creativity paired with an overwhelming air of perfectionism, for Olea is a craftsman first and an artist second. Undeniably, he is meticulous about performance and passionate about his creation.

He explains the process in simple, no-nonsense terms, and with a smile that never leaves his face: Draw, cut and fine-tune the shape in the green room, and please wear earplugs for the noise. Next, as long as the shape is perfect and the texture is smooth, bring the board to the blue room, where you must execute a vibrant and immaculate acrylic paint job—with the speed and efficiency of a hummingbird.

In the same blue room, the one with the high-tech ventilation system and cathedral ceilings, you will wrap the board in fiberglass and carefully install plugs for the fins. Lastly, you will take the board into the pergola-shaded corner of the courtyard and polish it three times by hand: once with rough sand paper, once with fine sand paper and then with hand wax. If the client wants it shiny, you will glaze it. If the client wants it lightweight, you will not.

Make no mistake. Behind Olea’s infectious smile and jovial countenance is a fastidious craftsman. “It takes patience, thinking and dreaming,” Olea says. “And hoping each board is going to be magic.”

Surf Master
In Mexico, the term maestro is a title bestowed on someone who has mastered a skill and elevated it to an art form. Although he might humbly deny himself the title, in Los Cabos, Alejandro Olea is the maestro surfers call when they want a board created expressly for them. Custom-made boards are the latest surf trend, and Olea takes us through the process:

Personal conversation: They bring me the board they’ve been riding and tell me what they want in their custom board. I ask a few questions, like, how long have you been surfing? What’s your favorite surf break? By looking at their board and knowing where they like to surf, I can tell what they need.
Discuss the specifics: After talking about what they want for the design, the shape and the size, I loan them a similar board so they can try it out. Then they give me more feedback on what they want.
Catch some waves: I go surfing and think about what we talked about. That’s where I come up with what I’m going to do, and I come back and make it. (Olea shapes all custom boards himself.)
Hand it over: When the board is finished, I give it to my client. Usually they say something like, “Hey, this isn’t what we talked about,” but I tell them to go try it out and come back after they catch a few waves. Most of the time, they come back saying, “This is awesome. How did you know this is what I needed?” When people surf, they think they know what they need, but we, as the builders, often know what might help them a little bit more.

For information on Olea Surf Company’s custom surfboards or to schedule an interview with Alejandro Olea,, contact info@costa-azul.com.mx or 011-52 (624) 142-2771.