Angelo x Todd : Across Oceans, Same Craft

[How the Paths Crossed]
I first met Angelo De Meulenaere in 2019, when Alex—also known as Superwolf—broke his ankle and asked him to step in. At the time, I was working in San Diego and staying at Joel’s place. Then in 2021, when I was back in San Diego shaping again, Angelo asked me to shape four boards that we sent to Belgium for him to finish in his own shop.

[Between Tradition and the Outside]
He’s the second best in the world, right behind Alex—and I mean that with a lot of respect. Alex is on another level in terms of traditional laminating, but Angelo is right there pushing things in his own direction.

Watching Angelo work, he’s incredibly fast and very precise. What separates Angelo from Alex is that Alex is a more traditional laminator. Working with Joel over the years, he’s spent a long time developing techniques inspired by boards from the past—acid splashes from the ’70s and things like that—and he’s mastered that approach.

Angelo, on the other hand, didn’t come up through a factory setting. I know he’s worked with some people around Europe, mostly in France, but he’s largely self-taught. That gives him a way of thinking outside the box of a traditional board builder. As someone who comes from a more traditional background myself, I really enjoy working with someone like Angelo who brings a different perspective to glassing surfboards.

Angelo glassing one of Todd’s shapes.

[Where They Connect]
The main thing we really have in common is the network of people we both know. That overlap is probably the biggest connection between us. Personality-wise, though, we’re actually pretty similar, and that’s why we have so much fun working together and get along so well. It’s easy for me to say, “Hey Angelo, let’s try this,” and he’s usually up for it.

In the end, we both just want to make cool boards, have fun doing it, and get people stoked.


Picking Angelo up at the airport.

[Taking It Further]
We stayed in touch after meeting in 2019, and we immediately connected. We both liked what the other was doing, and the idea of working together came pretty naturally over time. Before that, Angelo had spent time glassing at places like Jeff Hull’s, working on boards for guys like Lovelace and Malcolm Campbell. At some point he mentioned wanting to go back and do something there again, and said, “Hey, let’s make some boards at Jeff’s.” I was like, “Heck yeah.” That was in the spring of 2023.

Around that time I met Jeff Hull and Shannon, and things started coming together through Angelo, Tristan, Fob, and that whole circle. I remember Angelo joking—but also kind of serious—saying, “Maybe I could be your Superwolf,” like the relationship between McCallum and Superwolf. I thought that sounded pretty great.

Later that same year I went back to Japan to shape again, and that’s when I realized Angelo had never been there before. Since I already work with guys like Tappy and Koji (RIDE SURF + SPORT) in Japan, it just felt like the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together. We made it happen in the summer of 2024 for the first trip, then went back again in the spring of 2025. Now we’re just waiting for the next one—but it’ll happen sooner rather than later.


A full run from the collaboration with Angelo.

Angelo’s Instagram