Britt Merrick Goes On Shaping Spree In Pipe Pro Victory Lap, Mows 30 Boards In 3 Days 

“My dad always taught me that he surfers are more important than the shaper,” Britt Merrick said. “We just highly value them. Anytime we can get together and build that relationship and express how much we value them, it’s fun. And the more connected I feel to the team riders, the better work I do for them.”

If connection is a key to success, Britt and Barron Mamiya must have been brothers in arms after the young Hawaiian won the Pipe Pro last month. Riding a custom one-off 6’3 “Goldie,” Barron oozed confidence throughout the entire event, triumphing over an in-form Jordy Smith and the preeminent John Florence. He slid under heaving lips as casually as if he was ducking a closing garage door. 

“People are giving it exaggeration, but he said it’s the best board he’s ever had at Pipe,” Britt said. “And there’s not a lot of people who have ridden more boards at Pipeline than Barron Mamiya. So I felt personally gratified by that. He was stoked about it.”

So stoked, in fact, that Britt rushed back to Carpinteria the day after the final to get his team more freshies for Sunset. With foam presumably filling every orifice and crevice in his beard, Britt somehow managed to mow through 30 boards in just three days. 

Unfortunately, you can do all the Sunset prep in the world and the wave will still slap you silly. The second CT event of 2024 did not prove nearly as fruitful for the CI men as Pipeline. Barron, Imaikalani deVault and Matthew McGillivray all got bounced in the third round for equal 17ths. Lakey Peterson made the quarterfinals for the women. 

“Wasn’t my fault that all the boys bogged,” Britt said straight-faced before bursting into laughter. 

Barron is reportedly still rocking the Goldies, and has his board bag stocked with them for Portugal.  

The above field notes video from CI includes board insight from Britt and team manager Brent Power, Barron and Eli flexing some forthcoming carbon tech at Rocky Point, Parker Coffin’s casual backside hangers, and Britt unveiling a new look Mavs Gun with feedback from Mason Barnes.

And with all due respect to Britt, no matter how great Thicker That Water was, putting a single fin on a shortboard is like sticking a front stomp pad on a Skip Frye fish. Some things just don’t look right.