“There`s nothing more satisfying than seeing the stoke on someone`s face when riding one of my designs”.

This describes the passion and motivation in Markus  for making boards, in his workshop in Castlegregory.
The passion started in 1983, when he shaped his first board in his parents garage. At the time he was based in Aachen (Germany) and many, many boards followed after the first one. Surfing proper waves got more and more important and travelling across Europe looking for good waves was the other moving force in his live.

1996 was the first trip to the west coast of Ireland, which changed his life. “It`s one of the last paradises for surfing left in Europe, and I just wanted to live there”. In spring 2000 he arrived in Brandon Bay to stay, and started to work on his own brand, SEVEN surfboards.

Being German might not really be considered a qualification for a shaper, but learning chemistry and engineering  at a German university definitely helps to understand the processes involved in modern board manufacturing.
Keeping close contact with customers and receiving feedback is really important for Markus. It`s just as important for him to know an intermediate model has improved someone surfing as it is to know a team rider has won a contest.

Mervyn Beard has also been a very valuable influence in Markus` work. Mervyn’s experience and involvement in the surf industry is going back 40 years. “ Everyone admires Mervyn workmanship, and I always try to match his standards, on top of this, he has really seen it all before, his knowledge and experience is just unbelievable”, Markus said.
Markus shapes, fins, sands and polishes every board that leaves the workshop, therefore ensuring the highest quality boards available. He always prefers to talk through the board designs with his customers, find out their ideas and ability before deciding what is best for them.