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\f0\fs22 \cf0 Dave Chun and Gerry Lopez on Paddle and Surfboard Design\
KIALOA Paddle\ Dave Chun: Some people see it as being an
odd thing that I would make ocean going outrigger paddles or standup paddles in a landlocked
area. I guess if I really thought about it, it would seem like a strange deal. But when
you really think about it, when you design something, the bulk of the work comes from
up here (points at head).\ Gerry Lopez: Inspiration comes from generally
some pretty strange places and especially at some pretty strange moments. Dave and I
have talked about this, that oftentimes the biggest light bulbs happen in the middle of
the night, usually when you\'92re lying in bed.\
Dave Chun: I don\'92t know how you\'92re supposed to go about this process, but one of the things
I don\'92t do is I don\'92t look at other people\'92s patterns.\
Gerry Lopez: Creation is pretty difficult. Because basically to create something you
start with nothing. If you\'92re starting with something, then you\'92re just changing
it. Then, of course, a lot of design is exactly that. For instance, Dave\'92s stand up paddle,
the original one, was a creation.\ Dave Chun: Failure is always there. There
are so many things that can go wrong always. It really is a hard deal. Getting started
is nuts. I\'92ll do things like, I\'92ll avoid work. I\'92ll walk around. I\'92ll go over
to my buddy Gerry\'92s shop. He\'92ll say, \'93What are you doing?\'94 I\'92ll say, \'93I\'92m
avoiding work.\'94 I\'92ll do email which I know is a bad thing to do because it diverts
you from something. I\'92ll clean my shop. I\'92ll do everthing you can possibly think
of until either 2 things happen. One thing is that I\'92ll get an inspired thought. And
that doesn\'92t always happen. The other thing is that you just go, just do something. And
just start moving. And a lot of time I start projects that way. I don\'92t even know what\'92s
going to happen. I just start.\ Jerry Lopez: the design process just happens
when it happens and if you try to make it happen its kind of counterproductive and just
gets in the way. And so sometimes you\'92re under some pressure. I know he is a lot of
times because he comes over here and you know and goes ,\'94wow, man got all this pressure.\'94
And I\'92ll go, \'93come over here, man. hideout.\'94 And then you know he\'92ll kind of get refreshed
, go back, dive in and get it done. And the same goes for me to. If I\'92m not inspired
and kinda draggin, I\'92ll go over there and start bugging him, walk around his shop and
look at stuff and all of a suden whatever lead that was kind of holding me back from
whaterver I was doing just drops away and I come back feeling a little more refreshed
and can dive right into it.\ Dave Chun: One of the infulences I\'92ve had
in the building of my paddles is fly rod technology, because I fish. And so, one day I was out
there and I\'92m like, how come my fly rod doesn\'92t break? If you look at only paddles,
If I only looked at paddles, all I would know is whatever people already know. I\'92m not
interested in replicating things or copying things. I want to go forward. That\'92s my
interest, you know.\ Gerry Lopez: For Dave and I especially, specifically
with this whole stand up thing a lot of times we\'92ll bounce stuff off each other. And
having the two minds, you know, as we like to say, the two \'93Portegees are better than
one Portegee\'94. It really works, because all of a sudden something he\'92ll say will
inspire me or maybe something I\'92ll say will inspire something in his mind to look
at it from slightly a different angle and then it all starts to come together.\
Dave Chun: The ultimate compliment for me is when my paddle disappears in the hands
of the paddler. That they don\'92t even know that it\'92s there. That comes from when people
say, \'93what do you do?\'94 I tell them that I make utilitarian objects. I make cutting
boards and I see nothing wrong with that. For me, I see my job as making the connection
between the paddle and the person, the paddler. If they don\'92t notice it\'92s there and
if they have almost no comment to make after going on a paddle, I think I\'92ve done a
good job. How often to you talk about your hand, or your ears, or your nose? You don\'92t.
They\'92re part of your body. And that\'92s how I want my paddle to be.\
Music: Bill Keale \'93only One\'94 from the Album \'93With Aloha\'94\
Script: Sarah Max\ Interview: Steve Porino\
Visuals Martin Sundberg Photography\ Audio: Ellis Au\
Editor: Chip Booth\ \
\'a92012 Kialoa Paddles\ www.KIALOA.com\
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