Lalo of Sutho

The day began early as I headed North to meet with Ryan Lovelace in Santa Barbara. I arrived at 8AM and stopped at a local cafe called Red's.

The breakfast burritos are delicious there and the Chai latte washed it all down nicely. Ryan showed up as I was finishing and we talked about his past few epic days of SB surf heaven and that there might be some more left later that day.
I followed him a short ways to his new shop to pick up a blank that Lalo would soon be. There was a beautiful Timberline quad fish there as well as another Timberline board he was building for some guy named Wingnut. Down a gravel path we drove with the foam embryo to his top secret shaping complex in a boat yard. It couldn't be any more fitting. I like this vibe. We spent some time talking about the design for Lalo, going over size and contour placement on the AKU program. After a lengthy discussion about water flow on plane and on rail, in turns and trim, he started cutting the outline and mowing the foam to reveal my Lalo. One great thing was that he would stop to go over the design points with me because every curve and contour had a purpose, and the feeling of total immersion was present. I liken it to jamming with other musicians; the composition was delightful and moving.



I relished the dust on my body and the feel of a freshly shaped board as my hands ran along the rails, deck and belly. Ryan was blowing dusty snot rockets out of his nose. It was finished, and no curve or contour was left unchecked. He even put some extra tricks in there that I was very happy with. Of course I cannot wait to see Lalo in her new red dress.