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In The Shack with Steven FIROgenis
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I had the pleasure to spend some time at the Firo Surfboard Factory in West Palm Beach, Florida. Steve "Firo" Firogenis has been building boards for over 30 years. The Firo Surfboard name is starting to take charge in South Florida with surfers Like Channing Miller, Baron Knowtlin, David Rodman, Jeremiah Graves, Adam McPherson and Jeremiah Wyche riding Firo’s Boards. Here is a short interview with surfboard shaper Steven Firogenis before he and I spent some time in the shaping room.
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Salty Pixels: Were did you grow up?
Steven Firogenis: I was born in NJ and moved to Greece when I was a baby. Then I moved back to the US when I was about 7, and lived in West Orange until I was 11. Then we moved to West Palm and have been here since. I will never move away from here, I love it here.
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Salty Pixels: : How old were you when you started surfing?
Steven Firogenis: I started surfing when I was 13 in NJ during the summer at Cape May. I worked in my uncle’s restaurant as a kid. I saw some people surfing and started hanging out with them and surfing in the white water.
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Salty Pixels: Who or what inspired you to start shaping?
Steven Firogenis: Well, I didn’t start shaping surfboards from the get-go, pretty much I started messing around with boards real quick. I bought my first surfboard at FOX Surfboards back in 1976-77. When I got my first ding, I brought it into Fox and it sat there for a month. When I finally got it back, I went and got some products and started doing ding repair myself and then started making money doing it. I would find an old board rip the glass off of it and mess around with it, not really anything that resembled a surf board, but it was fun.
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Salty Pixels: Do you do your own glasswork?
Steven Firogenis: I have been glassing for over 30 years. Glass and Polyester. Pretty much any type of material that goes on a board… I used it. |
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Salty Pixels: Go back to the first board you shaped and tell us about it- size, shape and any issues you had with it.
Steven Firogenis: The first board I ever shaped went pretty easy. I shaped it for a friend of mine, Sean Abrams. I shaped it with sure foam. It didn’t have a plainer so I went to town and glassed it, Sean rode it, loved it, and I haven’t look back.
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Salty Pixels: I notice the boards are getting smaller. What makes your short boards different and tell us about this new era of short boards and whats to come.
Steven Firogenis: I pretty much shape a wide variety of a lot of things, you know, a lot of boards are going back retro so your getting wider, thicker weird swallow tail, you know, fishes, rockets. You really can’t put your finger on anything, there are a lot of things going on, and people are experimenting, they want to ride different designs. I’ll shape pretty much anything from a little 5’0” to 11’6” stand up paddle board.
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Salty Pixels: I noticed your blanks are smaller and thinner. Can you explain your process and materials?
Steven Firogenis: It’s the beauty of making my own blanks. I order my own Styrofoam in big blocks and it’s a 2 pound hard shot, double steamed for bead fusion, a really good Styrofoam. I cut it with a hot wire and templates. I use these templates one on each side using a hot wire over them. The beauty of making my own blanks is when I see a trend or I need a certain thickness, I can cut it to it’s thickness, which kind of makes it almost a close tolerance blank. I don’t have to thin the middle out.
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Salty Pixels: Who does your art?
Steven Firogenis: I do the simple stuff myself, mostly tape off lines, some colors, but when it comes to the intricate things, I have an Artist named Chan Shepherd doing that. He’s a pretty incredible artist. You can see his stuff on my Facebook.
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Salty Pixels: How do you feel about computers designing boards versus handmade boards?
Steven Firogenis: Computers are good for one thing, making a lot of boards. So if your doing anywhere from 30 to 100 boards a week or more, then yes you need a computer, because it’s not humanly possible, unless you have a staff of shapers. But then it’s not your designs anymore. Every shaper has it’s own touch and look so it’s not your design anymore. With the computer you can pin point that same board every time and that’s your design, but computers have no soul, there’s no love put into that board as it’s being shaped. Your not thinking about what you just heard from the guy ordering the board who's relaying it into the shape. With a computer your just punching a few buttons and it punches it out.
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Salty Pixels: What type of materials are you using to make boards?
Steven Firogenis: I use EPS and epoxy resin that I get from Greg Loehr. It is specially formulated epoxy mainly for surfboards, which doesn’t yellow as easy in the sun. For my stringers I use a 5mm thick marine ply, which is guaranteed, not to rot or swell for 20 years. For my fins I use the standard stuff, Future Boxes and FCS's. Lately I have been using FCS glass-ons.
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Salty Pixels: What advice would you give for people looking for the right surfboard?
Steven Firogenis: Support your local board builders. Don’t go to a surf shop and buy a board made to surf somewhere else. I am not saying come to me but every community has a local shaper, support him, it keeps the money in the community and your local shaper has seen your surf, and knows what you need. |
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Steven knows what he’s doing with years of experience to back up his board designs. From his custom foam blanks to his retro templates and solid glass work, Firo Surfboards is a sure thing. From what I am seeing in the water around South Florida, these boards work and run well. If you’re in the need for a custom board then Firo has the tools and skills to shape you that perfect board for a good price in a crappy economy. All his boards start at $450.00 and he can just about shape anything you want, so give the factory a call or stop in and check it out yourself.
For more information on Firo Surfboards call 561-366-8793
The factory is located at:
1604 Elizabeth Ave
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Please call to set up an appointment for your new custom Firo Surfboard.
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