Gabriel Medina's J-Bay Quiver

There’s an old adage that says, “Behind every great surfer is a great shaper.”

Okay, maybe there wasn’t. But there is now.

And Johnny Cabianca is the man who’s been shaping Gabriel Medina’s boards since the surfer was just 15 years old. In a recent interview with Wavelength Magazine, Cabianca spoke to journalist Ben Mondy about goals, shaping, and the wild animals adorning his latest J-Bay quiver.

In the clip above, you can see Cabianca, who resides and shapes in Spain, with Medina’s African safari-themed boards. During the interview, the shaper said the artwork was Medina’s idea.

“At the start of the year, he had some ideas for sprays that involved the sun, the moon, and the solar system, which he used at the Surf Ranch,” Cabianca told Wavelength. “Then for the J-Bay comp, he wanted African animals as a motif. We have the facility to digitally print the images on two-ounce fiberglass cloth, which doesn’t affect the performance.”

In Medina’s post below, we can see the boards after they arrived in South Africa.

It looks like the quiver consists of 10 boards, with leopards, lions, giraffes, and water buffalo. According to Cabianca, they range from 5’11” to 6’3”.

While he said Medina’s goals are making the WSL finals and qualifying for the Olympics, Mondy asked him about his own hopes and dreams.

“I just try and hold my side of the bargain up and make the best possible boards for Gabriel that suit his surfing and let him show his incredible talent,” Cabiana said. “Then my focus is just making the best boards I can for all my customers here in the Basque country and all over the world. If I do that, I’m happy.”

For the full interview visit Wavelength Mag.

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