On Dec. 5, surf industrialist Grubby Clark did shut his doors, closing a 44-year-old Southern California business that manufactured the buoyant foam core of most of the world's surfboards.But inspiration has grown out of the chaos. Many in the surfing industry now see the end of Clark's stranglehold on surfboard "blanks'' as a way to create a new kind of board -- stronger, lighter and manufactured in a less toxic way.The shapers, glassers and others in the cottage-style surfboard industry say the end of the Clark Foam monopoly could trigger the biggest change in the $4.5 billion surfing industry since foam replaced balsa wood in the '50s.
san jose mercury news
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clark blanks
French said his goal was to bring "mass customization'' to an industry known for its handcrafted product. He's commissioned 55 renowned shapers such as Santa Cruz's Doug Haut to design boards in return for licensing fees.
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