An Introduction To Tom Carroll And Hector Santamaria’s Perfectionist Board Crafter

You’ve got to do something, right?

The glory days of endless degrees on government dime and bountiful social security are a distant memory, so presently, for good or ill, one must work.

There’s plenty of dismal jobs out there: relatively straightforward to obtain, easy to explain to your grandparents, and, if your heart beats with a vaguely creative flutter, universally soul-crushing.

So what you gunna do?

Well, if surfing’s your thing you’ve got a number of avenues open to you, but know this, it takes time, perseverance and nothing short of a herculean obsession with fine-tuning your craft to make your vocation a reality. But, it can be done.

Come and meet the hyper passionate folk who’ve turned passion into fruitful careers with Stab and Oakley’s ‘Obsessives’.

Max Stewart seems far too young to be as set up and onto it as he is. While at first he might seem left field, brash even, once you’ve spent a little time with him you find out what it really is: the guy’s smart. Like, frighteningly so.

Instead of being the sort who puts their intellect to lofty ideas, or the pursuit of great wealth, Max dedicates everything he’s got to his craft, which is building the best surfboards he possibly can, and furthering design, whether in process, materials or his shaping. Knowing firsthand the work ethic and scrupulous attention to detail he possesses, he’s an obsessive in every sense of the word.

Watch the first Oakley Obsessives episode with Jacob Wooden, the landscaper turned elite lensman here.