Guarujá, an island off the coast of São Paulo, has long held a distinct place in Brazilian surf culture, with generations of surfers, shapers and board builders sharing the same coastline. It was within that environment that Ross was raised, and where his introduction to shaping came through his uncle, Claudio Maran. Claudio worked closely with Santa Cruz surfer and shaper Johnny Rice after Rice settled in Guarujá in the early 1970s, bringing with him board-building knowledge developed in California.
That connection placed Ross within a shaping lineage that had already passed through different generations, places and hands. It gave him an early grounding in the craft, but his own approach developed further through years spent shaping and surfing in different parts of the world. Being around accomplished surfers, varied styles and, at times, near-perfect waves offered an unusually clear testing ground for design. Riding the boards himself, then watching them under the feet of other surfers, allowed the subtleties of a design to reveal themselves in real conditions. Over time, that constant exchange between shaping, surfing and observation became central to the way Ross refined a board.
The boards carry something of that earlier lineage while reflecting years of experimentation elsewhere, with particular attention given to proportion, finishing and the relationship between a design and the person riding it. Ross remains closely involved in each board, working from the surfer’s ability, preferences and usual waves rather than treating a model as a finished answer.
