Oficina do Fato de Surf - a Portuguese repair project that gives a second life to your Wetsuit

Your favorite wetsuit just got an ugly tear and you think your glorious days with it are over! And now is the zipper and then is the collar… maybe it’s time to buy a new one!

Come and meet “Oficina do Fato de Surf” (OFS), the place where your wetsuit gets a second life. Created and founded by Jaime Gonzaga in 2012, who had the kindness of speaking with us and introduce us to his project, OFS aims for giving all surfers a more economic option, while taking care of our planet and contributing for a more sustainable way of living.

 

ASI: How did OFS get started? What motivated you to start and invest in this project?

Jaime: The OFS started after a purchase of a suit that did not take place for monetary reasons. I was at the store to buy the suit and I was going to use money that was much needed at home, so I gave up on the purchase and decided to repair my suit. I have a qualification on “Textile Quality Control”, so at that time that made me have some insights on how to make a wetsuit. That's what made me repair my own suit. After that, I went surfing and a cousin of mine liked the repair and asked me to repair his suit, because it had already been repaired elsewhere and it was not done right.

So, I took his wetsuit and repair it. He was so pleased that asked me to repair also his children's wetsuits. After that, the word was spread on our beach and a surf school got in touch with me and it all started like this. The main reason for me to start this project was to help the surfing community and give a second life to the Neoprene wetsuits. 

ASI: What does Oficina do Fato de Surf offers? What kind of repairs and recoveries do you do? 

Jaime: OFS offers a service for all types of repairs on Neoprene wetsuits, from replacing panels, collars, zips, repairing various types of tears, and treatment of the various types of neoprene, reinforcement in the most fragile points of the suit, tailor-made adjustments, and even gluing, sewing and sealing. We also use old wetsuits to give life to other wetsuits. Every wetsuit that we repair, we do it in the most professional possible way, as if it was our own wetsuit. Our service has very attractive prices for all types of people. 

ASI: What kind of wetsuits do you repair? Just surf suits?

Jaime: At the moment we repair suits for different modalities: surfing, vests for giant waves, triathlon, open water swimming, canyoning, kitesurfing, diving, among many other sports. In general, all kinds of Neoprene wetsuits.

ASI: What was the most difficult repair OFS has ever done? Any funny stories?

Jaime: I've already had several challenges and I can describe two that are very important to me as a professional and a human being. I changed a wetsuit for a paraplegic person, I changed the whole wetsuit and put zippers on the arms, shoulders and legs, to make it easier to dress. And I also changed a wetsuit size M to suit the measurements of a person with reduced height (dwarf), I had to cut the whole wetsuit to the point of almost making a new one. 

I also have two funny stories: I’ve already did a suit for a dog and a carapace for a diving suit. 

ASI: How can people deliver their wetsuits for repair? Is it the only option coming to your workshop?

Jaime: For those who are close, they can deliver at OFS, in Matosinhos (Porto). For those who are fare away, we have a carrier that can collect and deliver in any place in Portugal, Portuguese Islands and Europe.

ASI: What is projected for the future?

Jaime: For the future, I want OFS to get closer and closer to all people and water sports schools throughout Portugal and Islands. We also have a project to create water rescue clothing with the neoprene component, vests for giant waves and among others.

ASI: Anything you’d like to add?

Jaime: Please don't throw your wetsuits away without making sure it can be repaired! By repairing your wetsuits, you are protecting the environment and saving money. GOOD WAVES TO ALL 😊

 

Oficina do Fato de Surf
+351 910 196 213 | +351 918 425 402
oficinadofatodesurf@gmail.com 
https://oficinadofatodesurf.wixsite.com/oficinadofatodesurf 

 

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