Biography

Aloha and welcome. My name is Jon B. Mar and I am of Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian, and French ancestry. I grew up on the windward side of Oahu and have been shaping surfboards for 20 years. My extensive experience includes shaping for my own label, Praise Surfboards, which I started in 1983 as well as for other surfboard labels. In 1985, I shaped for Glen Pang who at the time owned Performance Hawaii and in 1986, I shaped for the Straight-Up Surf Shop which was owned by Kaui Hill, the once famous, Bu La'ia. At Straight-Up, I shaped boards for their entire team including a few hot amateurs such as Heath Hemmings, Scottie Fountain, Courtney Paulos, and Hans Schaffer who rode my boards at the time and dominated their divisions.

In 1987, I was offered the opportunity to shape for Town & Country Surf Shop. I gained 4 years of experience at T&C shaping and designing shortboards and guns, as well as longboards and funboards for many of Hawaii's top amateurs and pro's. A few top Hawaiian pro's I've made boards for are the one and only Mr. Dane Kealoha who was ranked at #2 in the world at one time, the multiple surf champion, the famous and outrageously talented at ½' to 35' Waimea Bay Lance Hookano, and the powerful and unlimited Johnny Boy Gomes, Davey Boy Gonzales, Pocho Ahina, Kirby Fukunaga, Jun Jo, and Darren Tatsuno.

I've been surfing for over 30 years on every shore of Oahu including the outer islands. I've also traveled to Indonesia, Baja Mexico-Cabo San Lucas, and surfed just about the entire southern coast of California. I basically surf 6 days a week at as many surf breaks as possible to gain an understanding of how different waves function-break and how different boards work on different waves. I design a new board for myself about every month incorporating various rockers, outlines, fin placements, foam foils-thicknesses throughout the board, concaves, and many other little functional features that help make a complete board. This research and development keeps me on the cutting edge of new innovative concepts and designs.

In addition to my years of shaping experience and wave-riding, I also have a degree in marketing and business. My objective and focus as a shaper is to design a board for you that will take you to the next level of surfing and will greatly enhance your surfing ability and enjoyment.