Makani has been surfing and shaping boards for over 15 years. He drew influence during his early years from his Dad, Kenny Tilton. His godfather Joe Kuala & Mike Wellman on Kauai helped guide his development during his preteen and teenage years. Makani finds influence/inspiration from all shapers especially boards that catch his eye. His biggest influence in recent years has been Glenn Pang since he's working with him over the past 5+ years.

Makani enjoys shaping modern high performance short and longboards. He also likes to experiment with doing different types of boards to keep his imagination constantly stimulated. The last couple of years has seen a big interest in twin fins from customers. Makani has been developing some really fun shapes with our team riders and customers as of late. The Twinnister and Missing Link have been getting a ton of great feedback. His H-mod, Dabbler, Gizmo, Sk8, Mini Beast and Nugget are also highly requested by our customers.

Makani has a talent for being able to listen to his clients and deliver a board that rides and feels as intended under their feet. His knowledge and experience along with his keen eye allows him to deliver consistent boards that work insane. You know that once you find a shape you like you can get it recreated and even slightly adjusted to improve it's performance if requested. Makani truly enjoys the interactive discussion with his clients in order to understand and deliver what they are looking for.

We're stoked to have Makani on our roster of shapers. His passion and stoke is evident through the surfboards he creates. We can't wait to see what new designs come out of his shaping bay. Spreading smiles is easy when you deliver these boards from Makani McDonald.

Past/Present Team riders:

Brisa Hennessy, Nage Melamed, Keoni Jones, Brittany Penaroza, Summer Ivy, Kai Martin, Yukko Whiteside, Guy Chang, Heather Faustin, Tyrra Galano, Kaleo Relator, Kristian Mcdonald, Maddie Gumbrecht, Daniel Johanson, Ryan Parker and Koa Yokota. He likes to help a lot of kids too so this list isn't comprehensive.

IG: @makani_shapes