Tom Wegener was so kind and will arrange a custom alaia specially for the show. He is bringing back all the wood board feelings to our lifes. From what I see, Tom and his boards are all about love. What´s you name and where are you from?
Tom Wegener. I am from Southern California but now I live permanently in Australia.
When did you find out that you would be a shaper?
My brothers and I always made everything that we needed from when we were very young. I shaped my first board for myself when I was 11 years old. I think it was 1976.
What do you want to show to people when you do your boards?
Now when I make my alaia boards it is really important that people see how little impact these boards will have on our environment. I am able to have a very clean factory now and all the waste that I make goes back into my gardens. I also love the way they surf which is important of course.
What´s surf for you?
Small fun days with my family when we can avoid the crowds and the pressure of competing for waves are my best surfing days now.
Can you tell us some highlights in your career?
Playing Siestas and Olas to large crowds of people was a great time. Making and riding the Olo (the true surfboard of Hawaiian kings) is a real highlight. Meeting my wife – she interviewed me when I came to Australia to show Siestas, that’s how we met and we have always worked together.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word Brasil?
Doesn’t everybody think of Brazilian women on the beach? I went to Rio once and had a great time. Also I like your coffee a lot! It is a place I would really like to visit with my family.
How do you feel to be part of an art show over here in Santos city?
I am so honored to be a part of the global surfing community and to see surfing elevated to art as I have always thought of boards as works of art.
Some words to the people that will see your work in Brasil...
Here you are seeing an accurate interpretation of a very important part of surfing history. The ancient Hawaiians rode the alaia for hundreds of years. The ocean was a big part of their life. With this board, being made from wood and so finely shaped, it is possible to feel a real connection with nature – the land and the sea. Perhaps this is how the Hawaiians felt too.
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