Shape of things to come

At the world’s first do-it-yourself surfboard studio, local wave riders can become one with their boards.In 2003, Valentin Shmidov a young investment banker, spent a year surfing the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Panama.

He didn’t want the vacation to end, so he put some serious thought into opening a unique design studio. Within two years, he turned that dream into reality.

He’s traded in his three-piece suit for a wetsuit, Wall Street for waves, and he’s putting his master’s in business administration to work helping people realize their own surfing dreams.

Shmidov, who worked in finance in London and Zurich, now lives in Surf City and has launched Pravda Surf, the first -- “that I know of,” he says -- custom surfboard design studio.

The studio is open to the public and houses everything surfers need to design, shape and paint their own surfboards.

“Most people are stoked when they surf a board they’ve created for themselves,” Shmidov said. “There’s a sense of pride in ownership, a love that they put into designing a board. Really, the board they create is an extension of their being.”

For the self-proclaimed “mutt,” who was born in Belarus and has lived throughout Europe, Asia and Central America, starting the studio means that he’s finally found a home.

Pravda, which means “truth,” is Shmidov’s way of helping bring surfers back in touch with the core elements of their sport, a hands-on approach to the boards they ride.

The design studio, which opened Dec. 9, contains state-of-the-art shaping and painting bays. Customers have access to shapers and computer-generated templates, and Shmidov is there every step of the way.

He even goes out to surf with customers -- he’s served 52 so far, 48 of whom were first-time shapers -- on their first time out on their new creations, to see how the boards perform.

Shmidov takes every aspect of surfing into account when helping a customer design a board.

“Essentially, I have developed a foam density algorithm,” he said. “It takes into account the height and weight of the surfer and the overall weight and density of the foam and glassing materials. I then incorporate the surfer’s surfing ability and his or her preferred surfing breaks, using historical wave data I have collected, and plug it into my model.

“I run an optimization model, including inertia, buoyancy, force and drag. I then filter the model based on the board the surfer would like to create, i.e., a short board, fish, fun board, longboard, gun. I send him or her the output, including the rocker and thickness profile, template, fin placement and configuration, and bottom contours. Then the surfer adds passion and flavor to the mix while shaping and painting to create a killer, customized board.”

Nick Drane and his girlfriend had owned four surfboards between them before Drane, 34, a Huntington Beach resident, went to Pravda and designed his own board.

“It’s the first time I’ve had something tailor-made for me,” he said of the 6-foot-2 short board. “I put a lot of time and thought into it, and Valentin put a lot of effort into helping me. He’s amazing at what he does, but he won’t take any credit.

“There’s just something special about designing your own board. The way it’s built, the freedom I have when it comes to movement with my feet, fits me to a tee. The design and logo is absolutely an extension of me. I’m over the moon about it.”

Sitting in the first bay at the design studio one recent day was an aerospace foam blank. Shmidov’s passion for the shaping process of this first-time endeavor rose when he spoke of the project that lay ahead.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Shmidov said, pointing about the design studio. “This is something I’ve dreamed of doing for about 10 years.