The other afternoon, I stopped by my friend Florian’s new surf shop in Mar Vista on the West side of Los Angeles. Shaper Supply Co. isn’t a typical surf store, however, it’s a surfcraft shop in the spirit of maker culture. A workstyle boutique peddling all necessities to shape customized boards, Shaper Supply also houses two bays for patrons to rent and whittle raw foam boards. Florian also offers classes on shaping, instructing first-timers, veteran artists, pro surfers to people who’ve never surfed at all, in a matter of hours. I guess the big thing right now in surf – well, I guess all subcultures – is the personalized DIY practice of making your own… and Florian is the personification of that. He followed his dream by building the shop with his own two hands. And now he helps others to do the same.