JAY NELSON EQUAL PARTS ARTIST, SHAPER, SURFER, AND CRAFTSMAN

Saying he makes forts for a living isn't too far off the mark. In between sessions in his hand-built artisan studio in San Francisco, where he drafts plans for surf buggies, tree houses, camper vans, and single-fins, Nelson paddles out at Ocean Beach, proving that yes he's an artist and yes he's a woodworker and yes he builds installations for Facebook, but first and foremost he's a surfer. At the least, he says, a good surf helps him wash off all that sawdust.