Greetings, Shredderz! I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating: it’s awesome to hear from folks and to see photos of the boards you send in. I love talking to people about boards and surf history so feel free to drop me a line. I can’t promise I’ll get back to you quickly but what I lack in punctuality I try and make up in enthusiasm.

Lately I’ve been really enjoying collecting various reader submitted boards and putting them into some blog posts. Check out this Infinity single fin that has some of the most ridiculous resin pin lines I’ve ever seen; here’s a handful of rare twin fins, including a Liddle fish and an Aipa sting; and I was lucky enough to get sent an absolute overload of Steve Lis pics.

If you’ve been reading the blog or following along on Instagram, you may know that there are few things I love more than a vintage surfboard with a story behind it…and a completely outrageous airbrush. I can’t bring myself to make that kind of statement with my own boards, so I’m happy to live vicariously through people that don’t share my hang ups. For this latest batch of submissions I’m focusing strictly on some examples of killer airbrushes. The more over the top, the better.

First up is a 1985 Town & Country Surfboards thruster shaped by the legendary Ben Aipa. Thanks to Robert for sharing photos of this board. The fluoro airbrush was done by Gavin Hasegawa. Here’s another 80s T&C thruster shaped by Aipa that also has a Gavin Hasegawa airbrush. You can see the clear similarities between the artwork on both boards. Hasegawa was one of the main airbrushers at T&C during the 80s, and he helped shape the brand’s aesthetic along with fellow artist Mark Townsend.

Next up we have a stunning Gordon & Smith Summer Swallow. Photos come courtesy of East Coast shaper Johnny Borbone of Borbone Wavecraft. Check out Johnny’s shapes on Instagram here. I posted this board to Instagram a little while back, and I figured it was worth throwing up on the blog so you can enjoy a higher res pic. According to multiple Instagram commenters, the airbrush was likely done by Tom Curtiss AKA TC, a longtime San Diego airbrusher based out of Joe Roper’s shop. I can’t get enough of this spray — it’s beautiful. You can follow Curtiss on Instagram here.

Last but not least we have a 6’5″ 80s Hot Stuff thruster shaped by Tom Eberly. Hot Stuff was originally an Aussie label but at some point they were producing boards in Orange County. I love the Hot Stuff flame logo, for starters. Sadly I can’t tell you who might have airbrushed this thing. It looks very similar to a Hot Stuff Gary “Kong” Elkerton Model I featured a while back, so I imagine both boards were done by the same artist. Shout out to Ben for sharing this bad boy.