Hi Jamie! How’s your day going?

Hey Charlie, I hope you are well. Thanks for reaching out and showing interest in JCD!

Tell us more about JCD Surfboards - what inspired you to start it? Things you've learned along the way? 

From when I was a young kid, I used to spend some holidays in Newcastle with my aunt, Uncle and Grandparents. My Grandparents lived near Darby St. in Newcastle and was friends with shaper Sam Egan. My first memory of the shaping world was when he took me into Sam’s factory, and I got to experience a small piece of how boards were being made. I was amazed!

 As I got older, I never had a great deal of money and would be riding anything, I could get my hands on, Old 70s twins, new school thruster shorties so I started to get knowledge of what different designs looked and felt like. Fast forward many years, my wife and I bought our first house in Adamstown Heights, and it had the perfect space to start hacking at some foam for myself.

 The job I was in at the time had never given me any creative opportunities, so it was a bit of an outlet for me to get in the bay and hack away with a planner and play with curves and designs. I would make templates off old boards under the house or boards I was riding at the time and tweak things to see how little changes would make the boards perform differently.

I was getting them glassed with a guy called Sarge who had a repair set up in his backyard. Sarge had been working in many of the Newcastle surfboard factories and had a good knowledge of design. He would often give me hints on making my designs flow or perform better. He would always say the best boards I’ve ever ridden had a little kick behind the back fin, releases the water better. The more I shaped the more I learnt and the more I fell in love with it.

What was the first board you ever shaped from memory otherwise your proudest piece? 

First Piece: It was a 5,10 hand shaped shortboard.

The natural rocker of the Southcoast 6,2 blank, I marked out reference points and pulled a flexi piece of Dow around the pegged points for the curves  

It looked like a train wreck, but it actually went really fun 

Proudest Piece: 

Im still learning everyday , So most days I produce something that a customer loves I get that proud dad feeling 

What’s next for JCD? Any exciting news on the horizon?

Our team rider Mike Clayton Brown is well placed on the qualifying series this year and could get a crack at the big time. So, to keep him and the rest of the team riding the best stuff is a big deal for me.

That and the opening of the new factory in Wickham has been a big leap for the brand and me personally too so to keep that going strong and customers returning is huge for me.

Thanks Jamie, how can readers connect with you?

Thanks for your time Jamie! To everyone looking to get their hands on the best shaped boards in Newcastle you can reach Jamie on the following: 

Jamie Carr JCD Surfboards 0423 440 388 jamie@jcdsurfboards.com www.jcdsurfboards.com