Greetings, Shredderz! Today we’ll be examining an awesome surfboard that crosses over a few different standouts from surf history: a Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider shaped in the 1980s, under Takayama’s legendary Hawaiian Pro Designs label.
Nuuhiwa and Takayama’s relationship goes way back. Nuuhiwa has mentioned Takayama as one of his early influences. Later on the two men were stablemates on Bing’s legendary surf team in the 1960s, and both Takayama and Nuuhiwa had signature Bing boards to call their own. Bing’s David Nuuhiwa Noseriding Model was produced during this time, and it remains coveted among longboard collectors. Takayama played a critical role in developing both of Nuuhiwa’s Bing models, which were the aforementioned Noseriding Model and the subsequent Bing David Nuuhiwa Lightweight Model.
The board pictured above is a Hawaiian Pro Designs Donald Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider (now take a breath), and it is currently available on Craigslist in Norfolk, Virginia, of all places. Pics in the post are via the listing.
The David Nuuhiwa laminate is an unusual one, and I have only seen it on a handful of Takayama boards before. On the other hand, I have seen a ton of Hawaiian Pro Designs / Takayama boards with “Noserider” logos, one of which you can see below. You’ll notice there is no mention of Nuuhiwa’s name.
I’m not sure to what extent the Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider is a variant of the Bing David Nuuhiwa Noseriding Model or the Bing Nuuhiwa Lightweight Model. Given the two men’s history with the Bing brand, however, I would be surprised if the HPD board pictured here didn’t at least contain some of the DNA from Nuuhiwa’s earlier Bing models.
The board that is being listed for sale also has something of an interesting history, according to the seller. He claims he was given the board as a Christmas gift from his wife around 1985. The mid Eighties represented longboarding’s dark years, as the surf world’s attention had turned to high performance shortboard thrusters. In the Nineties, noseriding underwent a resurgence, thanks in no small part to the likes of Takayama and his star pupil Joel Tudor. To complete the cycle, Tudor’s surfboard brand has also produced a Nuuhiwa-esque noserider model. In any case, the board featured in this post pre-dates Takayama’s resurgence in popularity by about a decade or so, which is a cool little touch.
As you can see in the pictures, the Takayama David Nuuhiwa Noserider is in impeccable condition. It looks completely new, despite being over thirty years old at this point. The seller is asking $1,600, and while I wouldn’t say this is cheap, it’s not insane, either. If you’re interested in the board, check it out on Craigslist here.
