Interview: COR Surf's Andy Gossett on making quality hardwood racks

(Left: A COR Surf Single supporting one of Aaron Chang's beautiful surfboards in his gallery. Right: COR Surf racks being varnished in their workshop.) 

Andy Gossett, owner of COR Surf, has been making beautiful, hand-made surfboard racks for nine years now. SurfboardRacks.com caught up with Andy to bring you the skinny on his approach to storing and displaying a board.

Where are you from, Andy?
I'm actually from Boise, Idaho. But I moved to Southern California about 10 years ago because I was tired of driving to the Oregon Coast to surf.

How did you get into the business?
I’ve been manufacturing racks for about nine years now. Not long after moving to California my business partner at the time and I discovered there weren’t any appealing surf-racks for hanging your board inside your house. They were all pretty ugly and made for storing in your garage. That’s what gave us the idea of making a surf rack with dark-stained wood. That way, the girlfriend didn’t mind having a board being displayed in the living room. It actually looked like an art piece, instead of storage. That was our first and still most popular rack, the "Single Rack."

Not long after, we came out with the multi-rack. It was the first storage rack designed for either storing or displaying multiple boards and it's made with beautiful dark-stained wood.

What makes a great surfboard rack?
A reliable, well-constructed design that's also appealing to the eye. It’s a fine balance produce something that's affordable yet still high quality. I feel that surfboards are pieces of art and craftsmanship and can easily replace any painting or poster if displayed properly.

Tell us a bit about the hardwood selection process you went through in creating your racks.
The type of wood is very important to us. The wood has to be strong, and it has to be good for the environment. That's why we decided to use the wood from a rubberwood tree. Rubberwood trees grow in Asia on farms. It's a sustainable wood, so they're not logged as most wood products are. Rubberwood is also one of the strongest woods available. It's used in most high-end luxury furniture and is the only wood we are comfortable using.

What's the coolest surfboard rack setup in a house, apartment or garage you've seen?
This is my favorite (see the picture at the top of this page). This is Aaron Chang’s art gallery in La Joya, CA.

When someone is looking for a surfboard rack for their precious surfboards, what one piece of advice would you give them to help them choose the right rack?
First, decide where you want your board to be displayed or stored – whether in a garage, or as a centerpiece in your living room. Make sure you have a rack that complements your board. Some racks out there are great for storing in your garage, but if you want to show off your quiver inside, there is nothing better than a dark-stained COR Surf wall rack. The great thing about both the single and multi–rack is they are built to display your boards. The multi-rack can display two boards, or store three.

SurfboardRacks.com stocks the COR Surf Multi surfboard rack. Wondering how to install one or whether this rack will hold your board? Head on over to the COR Surf Multi product page where we'll answer these questions and more.