Shaper Reveal: Who Made Italo’s Stab In The Dark Boards?

Watch ep 1 of Italo’s SITD on May 4th, 6 pm PST.

It’s true.

During the filming of Stab in the Dark, Italo Ferreira rode just 12 of the 13 boards shapers designed for him.

The other one he threw to the side upon their initial meeting, banishing it from all water-bound activities during his 10-day Stab in the Dark testing window. The board flew back stateside without as much as a heel dent.

Why, you might ask?

Well, Italo grew up surfing a cooler lid, so we know he’s not overly picky. The board he eliminated wasn’t the one with Medina’s number on it, so the decision didn’t come out of spite. And it certainly wasn’t an energy issue.

The reason Italo abandoned one board from his SITD roster is because, simply, we made him.

Yes, Unlucky 13 is back.

When we sent out invites to this year’s shapers, we were very clear: There is a 7.7% chance that your board will not be tested by our mystery surfer.

Pretty good odds, unless of course you’re that one unlucky shaper.

Watching Italo select Unlucky 13 was a study of the soft sciences. Would he base it on a board’s outline, its fin placement, or a particularly distasteful shade of gray?

Before riding a board, we all have an instinct about how it will go, but rarely (if ever) can we know we’re correct until we actually put foot to fiberglass.

Despite some protestation, Italo grabbed one board off the mint green container and sent it packing, ultimately basing his decision on some combination of nose design and tail contours. As if anyone actually knows that those things do.

Below is our 2023 Stab in the Dark shaper’s list. See if you can pick who gets the snip.

Shaper: Axel Lorentz
Label: Pukas Surfboards
Model: Tasty Treat
Dimensions: 5’10” x 18.63 x 2.25 x 26.1L
From: Basque Country
SITD History: 4x entrant, 4x finalist (Mick, All-Stars, Taj, Jack) — the most consistent shaper in the game

Shaper: Britt Merrick
Label: Channel Islands
Model: CI 2.Pro (an update of last year’s winner)
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18 11/16 x 2 9/32 x 26.6L
From: Santa Barbara, CA
SITD History: 2x winner (Mick and Jack) — tied for the most of any shaper

Shaper: Christiaan Bradley
Label: Bradley/Euroglass
Model: The One
Dimensions: 5’10”x 18 5/8 x 2 5/16 x 26.2L
From: Tasmania, but works out of France
SITD History: 1x finalist (Jordy)

Shaper: Darren Handley
Label: DHD
Model: Number 8
Dimensions: 5 10 x 18 11/16 x 2 5/16 x 26L
From: Gold Coast, Australia
SITD History: 1x winner (Julian)

Shaper: Hayden Cox
Label: Haydenshapes
Model: Darkside
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18 5/8 x 2 5/16 – 25.8L
From: Sydney, Australia
SITD History: 1x finalist (Dane), but in retrospect Taj picked the HS as his favorite.

Shaper: James Cheal
Label: Chilli
Model: Churro 2
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18 11/16 x 2 3/8 – 26.5L
From: Sydney, Australia
SITD History: 2x finalist (Julian and Jack)

Shaper: Jason Stevenson
Label: JS Industries
Model: Monsta 10
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.75 x 2.25 x 26L
From: Gold Coast, Australia
SITD History: 4x finalist (Julian, Dane, Jordy, All-Stars)

Shaper: Jon Pyzel
Label: Pyzel
Model: The Prime
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.63 x 2.31 x 26L
From: California, but shapes out of North Shore, Oahu
SITD History: 2x winner (Dane and Jordy) — tied for the most of any shaper

Shaper: Keith Teboul
Label: KT
Model: Crusher
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.75 x 2.27 x 26.7L
From: Maui, Hawaii
SITD History: first time entrant

Shaper: Marcio Zouvi
Label: Sharp Eye
Model: #77
Dimensions: 5’10” x 18.5″ x 2.4″ x 25.5L
From: Brazil, but shapes out of San Diego, CA
SITD History: 1x winner (Taj)

Shaper: Matt Biolos
Label: Mayhem/Lost
Model: Driver 3.0
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.63 x 2.38 x 26.7L
From: San Clemente, CA
SITD History: 1x winner (All-Stars), 4x finalist

Shaper: Ricardo Martins
Label: RM Surf Designs
Model: Electro
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.62 x 2.33 x 26.8L
From: Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
SITD History: first-time entrant

Shaper: Timmy Patterson
Label: T Patterson
Model: The Stoke-ed
Dimensions: 5’10 x 18.75 x 2.28 26.5L
From: San Clemente, CA
SITD History: 3x appearances (Dane, Taj and Jack)

Watch ep 1 of Italo’s SITD on May 4th, 6 pm PST.