In Santa Monica, surfing has always been just as important as skateboarding. Skating and surfing are a natural way of life, and growing up in this community led Natas to the art he creates today.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up and using local shapers, you\u2019d get custom boards. You\u2019d always think of the designs, the airbrushes and the colors. That part is pretty natural\u2014deciding how you want your board to look,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Santa Monica was nurturing in that way, Natas says. He began surfing and skating both at a very young age, and he loved watching the locals, skating pros like Jim Muir or Jay Adams, zoom by.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was almost like a bigger brother kind of feeling,\u201d Natas says. \u201cThere was some mentoring, especially on the art side. Wes Humpston, one of the original Dogtown artists, would give me pens and little pointers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite watching the local pros skate around Dogtown, Natas developed as a skateboarder much on his own. He recalls spending time alone, experimenting and woodshedding tricks.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, Natas finds inspiration in the community and collaborates with many artists and craftspeople on various projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese sports are very expressive, and a lot of people consider it an artform. There\u2019s a lot of creative people involved in surfing and skateboarding. And you have this perfect canvas,\u201d Natas says. \u201cYou have this tradition of silk screening and adding graphics to skateboards and colors on surfboards. I find it inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
His latest creations, in collaboration with Shinola, are limited-edition surfboards and beach towels. The two share a similar design\u2014two Ws that pay homage to West Washington Boulevard, the previous name of what is now Abbot Kinney Boulevard and the location of the Shinola Venice store. Natas describes the style as a bit looser, drawing inspiration from traditional 1960s boards with a resin tint and acid splashes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe thought was to bring a little bit of that without looking overly traditional,\u201d Natas says. \u201cI wanted to push that a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Natas likes to draw from the past, often turning to hand lettering and vintage books for inspiration. He sees today\u2019s great skateboarders\u2014or \u201crippers\u201d as the skateboard community calls them\u2014learning tricks from history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really love watching this current generation of rippers that pick and choose of era. They don\u2019t stick to just one,\u201d Natas says.<\/p>\n
Curating this artform\u2014pulling from tradition while simultaneously challenging it\u2014is no easy task. Natas notes that crafting in traditional ways is a slow and difficult process. These surfboards require a lot of engineering, and shapers and glassers have many variables they must take into account. With hydrodynamics, every detail matters, from the contour of the bottom to the shape of the fin. Crafted by hand with a planer and a saw, these boards require the expert eyes and hands of the shaper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of craftspeople involved, people you need to trust and communicate with. Up to a fraction of an inch will make a huge difference,\u201d Natas says.<\/p>\n
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This kind of commitment to quality drives all of his creations, and it is one of the many reasons that drew Natas to collaborate with Shinola.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been doing projects with Shinola for a number of years now, and I really get along with the way they operate\u2014the transparency and the honesty,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
For Natas, quality hinges on reliability, especially when you\u2019re skating the streets or surfing the ocean.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m attracted to things that are of quality because of the reliability. When I go surfing or skating, I don\u2019t want to wonder if this thing is going to break in my hands or not perform the way I want it to,\u201d Natas says. \u201cWith quality products, you don\u2019t get left high and dry, and you get to enjoy things to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quality doesn\u2019t come quickly, but it\u2019s always worth the wait. Shaping can take a long time because of the many elements involved in the creation, Natas says, and shapers are notorious for taking longer than they say.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a running joke in the surf community: \u2018Is my board done yet?\u2019\u201d Natas says.<\/p>\n
One thing that is never done for Natas is creating. Whether it\u2019s a new project, painting for fun, or making crafts with his toddler, Natas lives for it all. And though this leaves him with little time for waves or wheels, he still tries to sneak in a surf or a skate whenever he can. Because for Natas, life in California\u2014surfing, skating, creating\u2014never gets old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Santa Monica, surfing has always been just as important as skateboarding. Skating and surfing are a natural way of life, and growing up in this community led Natas to the art he creates today. \u201cGrowing up and using local shapers, you\u2019d get custom boards. You\u2019d always think of the designs, the airbrushes and the […]<\/p>\n