Yoshiro, or Yoshi as his friends call him, was born and raised in a small army town called Chitose in Hokkaido Island, Japan. He moved over to the Gold Coast around 15 years ago where his passion for surf board shaping began. Yoshi is one of the most humble, creative and talented board shapers in the industry and we are stoked to have his boards on display at the Burleigh Brewing Taphouse for February.

Thank you for being involved in the Burleigh Live Your Passion movement. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Yosh and I am a surfboard builder from Burleigh Heads.

How and when did you first get into board shaping?

My very first shape was over 15 years ago and that was the ugliest surfboard I ever made in my career. Now I shape almost every day and create my version of a masterpiece for other people to enjoy all over Australia and in Japan.

Where did the inspiration come from to create such beautiful and unique surf boards?

Everyday life inspires me to create through playing with different colours, shapes and techniques. What I see and hear everyday influencers my creation in some way. Even drinking coffee or tea at my home; I decided to incorporate a tea bag leaf colour and texture into one of my paints and glassing designs.

How does living on the Gold Coast inspire you to create? 

Definitely the environment where I live is perfect to go for a surf and get some waves before work and the weather is always nice. The surf board industry on the Gold Coast is huge and I wanted to be a part of the industry to improve the experience for surfers.

Who inspires you to create the artwork you do?

Legends all over the world

What do you love most about board shaping? 

It’s not just leading my own satisfaction of making boards but it’s about making people happy and when I see other people frothing on my boards, I feel stoked. It’s rewarding to share my craftmanship to make individual boards for all kinds of individuals. I enjoy working with them to create something unique that both of us love. That’s what I love most about board shaping.

Why do you believe it is so important that others live their passion?

I think people need to find what they love doing and do that and along the way if they can make great things make people happy it’s a win win.

What do you admire about Burleigh Brewing?

I love craft beer and Burleigh Brewing make really good beer! I love everything about the crafts and its cool that they are down the road and we are both creative in our own way making others happy.