Old surf ads are fun and all, but let’s face it: if you’re reading this blog, you came here for one thing, and that’s the straight dope on vintage surfboards with some heavy hitter pedigree. I think you’ll all agree that today’s stick fits that description. And, if for some reason, a Dane Kealoha personal rider shaped by Glenn Minami still doesn’t have you convinced, drop me a line and we’ll set you straight ASAP. Yes, pictured below is a Dane Kealoha surfboard shaped by Minami under the storied T&C Surf Designs label. The board comes courtesy of a private, anonymous collector. Thanks to the owner for sharing the photos you see in this post!

The owner was unable to find any pics of Kealoha surfing this board, and I couldn’t either. That said, you’ll notice it has a similar color scheme to the red and yellow Dane Kealoha surfboard seen at the top of the page. (Not sure who took the photo of Dane riding the red and yellow board; let me know if you have more clues.) Moreover, according to Minami, the fact the board was 6’3″ indicates it was likely a step up. Apparently Dane liked to surf shorter boards in powerful surf.

It looks like this board is unusual in the sense it was shaped for Dane as a personal rider. From what I can tell, T&C produced a Dane Kealoha Model for everyday consumers. There appears to be an example of a Kealoha model available on eBay right now. The eBay board doesn’t have a shaper signature anywhere on the board, and according to the listing, it was shaped somewhere in Australia, likely under license. I think Dane Kealoha Model boards are likely to command high prices on the open market, but as cool as those boards are, I love the fact the single fin featured on this post was made for Dane to ride himself. It’s also worth noting that the eBay board is a twin fin.

There are some interesting subtleties found on the laminates on this Dane Kealoha board.

 Last but not least, the Dane Kealoha surfboard comes with an absolutely bitchin’ fin, which I believe is original. And yes, I really dig the fact the T&C Surf sticker on the fin matches the color scheme of the board.

Thanks again to the individual who shared pics of this incredible surfboard, and I hope you enjoyed learning more about this awesome stick!