Umdloti surfer Kei Weyer is shaping his own future

He comes from a family of surfers and since he rode his first wave, he knew that surfing was not just in his blood, but also his future.

Umdloti resident Kei Weyer is 21 years old and said he grew up on the beach watching his family surf – his granddad, Peter Rens, was actually one of the first surfers in East London.

“My dad pushed me into my first wave in Umdloti when I was five years old. I haven’t stopped surfing since then,” said Kei, who lives with his family, two Great Danes – Kevin and Lilly – and Chuck the cat.

Kei said he always knew he would not want to have an eight to five desk job and decided to take a different route after he finished school.

“I went on a gap year programme in P.E. called Quest in 2017. It is like finishing school for boys where they taught us everything from fixing a car to tracking animals and white water rafting,” said Kei, whose favourite surfer is Tyler Warren because he is so alternative and shapes his own boards.

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When he came back, he was lucky to meet surfboard shaping legend Peter Lawson who offered him the golden opportunity to learn the craft from the master himself.

“I was screaming with excitement when Peter offered me the chance to learn from him. He has been such an influence and role model for me and I could not be in a better place right now. I have literally been dreaming about this since I was six!”

While Kei said he has never been into competitive surfing, shaping has always fascinated him.

“Seeing surfers having a good time on a board you made is the coolest feeling. Twin fins for example are big at the moment and I am really excited about them. You immediately see a surfer relax their shoulders and just have fun on a twin fin.”

He said surfboard shaping has changed a lot, as most of the skill is now in the digital design part of the process.

“We design the board on a computer and then it is sent to a milling company who give us the outline of the board which we perfect by hand. The better your design, the better the board.”

They get a lot of their boards from the mecca of surfing, Hawaii, which Kei said is super exciting as they get the latest and best designs.

“Seeing our guys explode on these boards here is epic and having the opportunity to work with these boards is great. I just love this line of work.”

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