Making shapes: Dandoy Tongco

Becoming the brand

Part of a collective of local surfers and skateboarders hailing from a modest township in Mactan, Cebu, Dandoy Tongco and his friends created their own board designs.

Without the means to buy expensive surf equipment, this collective of surfers decided to learn to make their own quality boards, the success of which led Dandoy to launch his own brand. Today, more than a decade later, their short boards, mid-length longboards and standup paddleboards grace the waves all around the country – and they’re the boards of choice for Tao too.

To level up his craft, Dandoy moved his family from gentle-watered Mactan island, Cebu to the wilder swells in the town of Allen, in Northern Samar. Here, he keeps riding the waves, testing his designs and guiding his kids on their own surfing journeys.

@dandoytongcoshapes