Rozbern
John Oppito, the visionary behind Rozbern Surfboards, drew his early inspiration from the beach breaks of the Northern New Jersey shore where he spent his formative years. His passion for surfing and craftsmanship led him to Rhode Island to attend the University of Rhode Island. Surrounded by the cobblestone-bottomed point breaks of New England, his love of building surfboards grew. It was during this time that Oppito's talent for shaping came into its own, as he shaped boards not only for himself but also for his friends and their extended circles.
Following his time in Rhode Island, Oppito returned to his home base of New Jersey to fully immerse himself into board building. He found a welcoming home at Heaven's in Asbury Park, NJ, where he collaborated with visiting shapers such as Ryan Lovelace and Rich Pavel, while continuing to grow Rozbern.
During the summer of 2021, Oppito embarked on a new chapter in his career by relocating his growing family and Rozbern Surfboards back to Rhode Island. Teaming up with the prominent business group behind Ocean Mist and Matunuck Surf Shop, Oppito played a major role in bringing Space Rock Glassing to life. New England's first and premier multi-label glass house.
Describing Oppito as humble would be an understatement. We sat down with our soft spoken Captain to learn a bit about his shaping origin story and the inspiration behind the exclusive one-off shapes made for the Space Rock Glassing website.
Why Rozbern Surfboards and not Oppito Shapes?
Rozbern is the name of the street I grew up on in NJ. When I was in high school, there was a group of us that would fix dings at my parents house, and we all were interested in making boards. By naming it after where they were made, I felt like it left it open to collaboration.
The early Matunuck garage days while attending URI.
What was the first board you shaped?
JO: The first board I shaped was an attempt at a classic fish. It had blue rails with a brown pinline on the deck, and glass on keel fins. I shaped it out of block cut EPS and glassed it with epoxy. I figured the epoxy would be a little more user friendly than poly resin, plus I wouldn’t have to worry about the smell.
Why did you choose to shape a fish over a standard shortboard?
I think even with my rudimentary knowledge of surfboards at that time, I realized that a performance board had too much nuance for a beginner to shape. So I just figured, all right, well I can do something flat, fat, and buoyant, I'd have a higher likelihood of it being functional.
Mark “Gilly” Gilmartin on a North East beach break winter bomb.
Has that POV shifted over the years?
In my opinion, high performance shortboards are still the hardest to shape. There's much less margin for error, and the board needs to function exactly as intended. Generally, the surfer is more critical of the performance and less willing to spend time to figure out the board. With more 'alternative’ designs, you usually have a little more leniency.
How important is both team rider and customer feedback to the development of your shapes?
Anytime I can get feedback from a person that is really enjoying the board that I made is essential. It’s always flattering to hear it's a magic board. It's the best board ever… That's where I can surf vicariously through people and just watching people watching the way the board works, how it's moving through the water, how it's either helping or hindering what the person's trying to do on the wave. I get a lot of value out of that, and it’s very important.
Can you tell us about the two boards you shaped for the site? In general what makes them different from a Rozbern that someone could buy right off the racks at their local surf shop?
The boards I shaped for the Space Rock website are not any of my models, they are one-off handshapes from ideas I’ve been working through in my head. I’d like to use this channel as more of a creative outlet for my shaping, with less restrictions. I used the same nose template for both boards, and incorporated some similarities within the design of the bottom contours and foils. Essentially two completely different boards, for different conditions, but built around the same DNA structure.
Pescatarian lines.
Let's start with the fish what makes it different than your standard fish?
The fish is a bit longer and straighter than fish I typically shape. Was hoping to get lots of drive out of the narrower, straighter outline, but to break that up and allow some pivot with a slight wing behind the fins. The bottom is a modern take on a classic Lis or Pavel style fish, but with a more pronounced tri-plane feeding the fins. There’s a bit of a peak of see just in front of the fins, to try to help the board roll from rail to rail effortlessly. I had long walls and powerful but playful waves in mind.
Who are some shapers that help influence this shape?
Definitely has some Pavel and Lis influences, as do pretty much all classic fish shapes. This one has some modern refinements though. Might have accidentally channeled some Josh Peterson vibes!
Oppito putting the fun in the Fun Gun.
Why do you call the second shape a fun gun?
Fun gun is sort of tongue in cheek, but its a super versatile shape. I think its approachable for almost anyone. Enough volume and stability for a more novice surfer, but sophisticated and refined for an advanced surfer in waves of consequence. I wanted to shape something that a surfer of any ability level could feel something from it.
Who are some shapers that help influence this shape?
The outline sort of has Gerry vibes, but maybe some Parmenter influence in the rails and foil.
What can we expect from Rozbern in 2024?
I'm looking forward to freeing up some creative energy in 2024, both in the design of the boards as well as the brand image. We’ll have a couple new models on offer, and will be working with some new team riders. Not reinventing the wheel, just putting our foot on the gas a little harder!
That sounds exciting! Can you give us any clues of how the new team riders will be and what type of new models are in the works? Or is that highly confidential?
I like to keep things quiet until they actually happen. But we have some performance, grovel, and alternative things in the works with some people who can provide great feedback.
What are some innovative ways you look to leverage Space Rock this year?
Space Rock is both a production partner that can handle the volume of boards to make sure our Rozbern retailers have the boards they need on the racks, plus make sure our custom orders are dialed and finished exactly as intended. Space Rock also allows me the creative freedom to work on one-off boards, projects and collaborations.