IG: @gpangsurf
A master of shaping for over 40 years
For those who don't know Glenn Pang yet, his name has been inseparable from Town & Country Surf Designs since the early 80s. A true pillar of Hawaiian shaping, he has shaped boards for surfing legends throughout the decades: Martin Potter , Marvin Foster , Billy Kemper , Kekoa Bacalso , and many others.
Even today, top professional surfers, such as Kanoa Igarashi and Frederico Morais , call on his expertise when they come to face the powerful waters of Haleiwa, Sunset or Pipeline in winter.
But Glenn Pang hasn't just built for the elite. Throughout his career, he's created boards accessible to all levels, allowing every surfer to experience the magic of quality surfing.
A constant quest for innovation
Through all the eras and trends of surfing evolution, one thing has remained constant for Glenn: his constant search for the perfect model .
"For me, you can never be completely satisfied with a board," he says. "There's always a better design possible, always a better board to create."
A passionate surfer himself, Glenn personally tests each of his ideas:
"I never rode the same boards as the ones given to the team. I was always looking for the next improvement. As soon as I found something that worked for me, I would give it to the riders to test to get their feedback and refine it even further."
This, he says, is one of the greatest joys of the job: feeling the magic of a board he has designed, and seeing his riders excel — sometimes even winning major competitions — on his creations.
Between tradition and modernity
Like most shapers today, Glenn now uses digital technology to design his models: design software, cutting machines, manual finishing...
This allows it to achieve a level of precision and consistency that was previously unattainable.
"There are many excellent hand shapers out there," Glenn points out. "But making two perfectly identical boards without a machine is almost impossible. That said, to become a good shaper, you must first learn to do everything by hand. This is what trains the eye, the sensitivity, the ability to spot and correct the slightest imperfections."
A demanding learning philosophy, but one that founded his unique talent.
The future: ever more innovation
Even today, Glenn Pang continues to work daily with high-level team riders as well as everyday surfers, to create boards capable of performing in all conditions .
With the arrival of new talent, evolving expectations, and the endless energy of the surfing community, we look forward to seeing what new wonders will emerge from Glenn's technical imagination.
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