T Patterson Surfboards
In the heart of San Clemente, where the hum of planers and the rhythm of waves have always kept time together, Timmy Patterson stands as one of California’s true surfboard alchemists. His name carries quiet gravity — whispered in shaping bays, printed on rails, and etched into the storylines of world champions and locals alike.
Timmy’s lineage reads like a chapter from surfing’s early scriptures. The Patterson family were among the first to work the shaping rooms of the coast — his father, Ron Patterson, glassed boards for legends like Hobie Alter; his uncles cut templates for the pioneers who built surfing’s golden era. By the time Timmy picked up his first planer, the craft was already in his blood.
From those beginnings came a lifetime of innovation. In the 1980s, as performance surfing exploded, T. Patterson Surfboards became synonymous with speed, precision, and that electric connection between board and body. Timmy shaped for Andy and Bruce Irons, C.J. and Damien Hobgood, Yadin Nicol, Matt Archbold, Griffin Colapinto, and countless others whose lines at Lowers helped define modern California surfing. His boards have danced across reefs from Pipeline to Bells, from the WSL tour to backyard barrels that never made the highlight reels.
Step inside his San Clemente factory today, and it still feels like stepping into surfing’s heartbeat. Foam dust clings to the air like incense; half-shaped boards rest in silence, waiting for their destiny in the water. Timmy moves between them with a craftsman’s grace — part artist, part engineer, part historian. He doesn’t talk much about legacy, but every curve he cuts adds another verse to it.
T. Patterson Surfboards is so much more than just a shop — it’s a lineage. A living continuation of California surf culture’s most sacred craft. And if you’ve ever felt that perfect glide down the line — that effortless moment when you and the board disappear into the wave — odds are, you’ve felt a little bit of Timmy’s magic too.
