Greetings, Shredderz! If you missed yesterday’s post about a special Creative Freedom John Bradbury board, please do check it out. I was thrilled to get these pics from a reader, and equally excited to share it with the rest of you. Today’s post also would not be possible if it weren’t for a thoughtful and generous reader. A big thanks goes out to Danny, who sent me an awesome Mike Eaton Surfboards brochure that was likely published sometime during the mid Eighties. You can follow Danny on Instagram here. Usually, Sagas of Shred highlights vintage surf ads, but given how awesome the Eaton Surfboards brochure was, I figured it was worth the change.

This is the outside of the brochure. When it’s folded up in booklet form, the Eaton logo in the far right flap serves as the cover for the brochure, and the middle panel is the back cover. I love the t-shirt designs and the signature from the middle panel.

This is the interior of the brochure, showing the different Mike Eaton Surfboards models. Check out the signature airbrush designs on the rails.

The Mike Eaton Surfboards brochure is a folded up booklet, but as you can see from the photos above, I unfolded it and scanned each side of the document. Apologies if the formatting is a little strange, but I figured this was the best way to show off the content.

I love everything about this brochure. It is immediately recognizable as a document from a much older time. Danny, who sent the document to me, guesses it was likely from the mid Eighties or so. On one hand, I wouldn’t write this blog if I didn’t love vintage surfboards and anything related to them, but contrasting the brochure above with, say, Hayden Shapes’ Instagram profile makes me acutely aware of how differently surfboards are sold today. (For what it’s worth, I dig Hayden Shapes and their branding.)

I have actually never seen the different Eaton Surfboards models explained in this kind of detail. The only time I got any info around Eaton model names was when Steve, another awesome reader, sent me photos of this Eaton Bonzer UEO model, which you can see below. Judging from the brochure, the Eaton UEO was offered strictly as a Bonzer setup.

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Another day another gorgeous Mike Eaton Bonzer. This board comes courtesy of Shred Sledz reader Steve Wray, who has shared a number of bitchin’ sticks from his well curated collection. I love the colors on this board. Not sure who did the airbrush on these Eatons but many of these boards have the same pattern along the rails. Steve tells me this is the UEO model. #mikeeaton #eatonbonzer #vintagesurfboard #shredsledz

A post shared by SHRED SLEDZ (@shred__sledz) on Nov 17, 2018 at 1:10pm PST

It’s interesting to note that SDKT and Semi models are offered in either single fin or Bonzer setups. I have heard that SDKT stands for “Step Deck Kick Tail”, and I’m guessing that Semi refers to what looks to be a semi gun outline. There isn’t a twinzer to be found in this lineup, either. I wish I had more info on the model names — if anyone does, please do let me know.

Finally, I noticed that the SDKT and UEO models have very specific lengths assigned to them. If I’m interpreting things correctly, the SDKT comes in 8’0″, 8’6″, 9’0″ and 9’6″; and the UEO comes in 7’3″, 7’6″, and 7’9″.

Thanks again to Danny for sending me this thing through the mail. Honestly, I’m so stoked just to be able to scan it and share it online where it can be seen by others. If you have any similar kinds of materials definitely let me know! I am always interested in seeing this stuff and writing posts about it, so don’t be shy and drop me a line.

We’ll be back next Thursday and resume our regularly scheduled Sagas of Shred, with some vintage surf ads for your viewing pleasure.

Note: Post edited on Jan 6 2019 to update details on the SDKT model