Greg Martz

Greg Martz, the owner and chief laminator at Waterman's Guild, has been glassing surfboards for over 40 years.
Greg built his first surfboard at the age of 14 in his garage in La Mirada. Since then, "It's the only thing I ever wanted to seriously do." In high school Greg started going to Huntington Beach where he met Sonny Vardeman and became a regular hanging out at his shop. It wasn't long before Sonny began showing Greg how to laminate, hot coat, and sand. With that foundation, Greg honed his skills with Russell, Gordie, Windansea, and Plastic Fantastic.
In 1972, Greg got a job at Surfglas in Santa Ana working with Sterling Santley and designer, Geoff Prindle. This was a seminal time for Greg, defining his direction much as college was supposed to do. Surfglas was sold in '75 and Greg plied his craft for Infinity, Bruce Jones, Rick James, Lightning Bolt and others.
He was glassing boards for the likes of Shawn Stussey, Bob Hurley, Gotcha, and Quicksilver when he hooked up once again with Sterling to create Surfglas Surfboards in San Juan Capistrano. After three years Greg had the vision to create his own shop, one that would bring together the best craftsman in the industry and so in 1983 he rented space in Santa Ana to start the Waterman's Guild.