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Meet the Shaper

James Mitchell

James is the founder and head shaper at Las Olas surfboards. James was born and raised in the north Bay Area and grew up wandering the fickle beaches of Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties. James moved to San Francisco in 2005 and started shaping boards under the Las Olas label out of his garage in 2006. He built a couple dozen boards from start to finish on his own before taking a position at the Santa Cruz Board Builders Guild in 2007 as a production laminator. Under the guidance of master craftsmen such as Doug Haut, Doug Fletcher, and Marc Andreini James learned how to shape, laminate, fin, sand, gloss and polish every style of board from classic 10' logs to performance 6' thrusters. James shapes all types of boards but most enjoys shaping classic single-fin nose riders as well as step-ups and guns for OB.

James has over 15 years in the composite fabrication industry and along with surfboards has designed and built everything from flight components for the F-35 Lightning to robotic sailboats capable of autonomously circumnavigating the globe. James has a background in engineering and a passion for building, he has a wealth of experience in product design, manufacturing and advanced composites and brings his skill and knowledge in the field to every board he makes.