Tag: skip frye

Social Media Roundup: Last of the Decade

Greetings, Shredderz! Hope you are all enjoying the last few days of the decade. I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye to 2019 than by checking out some sweet sticks, so without any further ado, here are some of my favorite social media posts from the past month or so.

Stab Magazine called Tom Curren’s Maurice Cole-shaped reverse vee “the most famous board ever shaped”, and it’s hard to argue with that description. The Surfer’s Journal recently weighed in with some cool trivia, letting us know that there were two boards with the signature yellow rails and logo-less design: a 7’3″, along with the more famous 7’8″ featured in Servais’ timeless cutback photo. The existence of the nearly identical 7’3″ and 7’8″ boards is described at length in the Stab Magazine article linked in the first sentence of the caption.

Here’s where things get weird: in last month’s Social Media Roundup I featured an Instagram post from Maurice Cole himself, posing alongside an 8’0″ board with the same reverse vee, yellow rails and blank logos. Cole also claims the 8’0″ was shaped in 1991, along with the 7’3″ and 7’8″. Does this mean there are actually three reverse vee boards, and not two? I figure if anyone knows it’s Maurice Cole, but consider me intrigued.

Rob Machado is a Pipeline Master, he gets paid to travel the world and surf his brains out, and he’s also got phenomenal hair. If you find yourself running out of reasons to be jealous of the dude — who, by all accounts, is a super nice guy — he also gets Skip Frye boards for Christmas. This one is a beautiful 7’11” Frye Nozzle.

Speaking of things I’d like to see under my Christmas tree, add a Marc Andreini balsa Serena model to the list. My 9’0″ Andreini Serena is probably my favorite board of all time. You can see Marc posing alongside a different board in the picture immediately above this caption — note the White Owl logo on the deck, whereas the first board doesn’t have any logos. The logo-less Serena is actually a gift to the woman whom the board was named after, which makes it even cooler.

There’s no special significance to this shot, which was taken by multi-hyphenate Andrew Kidman. It’s just a gorgeous photo of a skilled craftsman that highlights the beauty and skill of hand shaping surfboards. RIP Allan Byrne.

The Campbell Brothers have been featured in the Social Media Roundup countless times now. They always have cool tidbits from their decades long history with one of surfing’s most enduring designs. Here’s an early Hawaiian quiver from 1983, featuring a trio of sweet sleds. Check out that Cafe Haleiwa logo on the far left!

Skip Frye K Model

Greetings, Shredderz! Look, I’ve never been much of a hashtag guy, but there are exceptions to every rule. In this case, I have wholeheartedly embraced the #fryeday movement, which is a weekly crowdsourced tribute to San Diego’s very own Skip Frye. Pictured here is a gorgeous Skip Frye K Model. The photos were originally posted to the Surfy Surfy Facebook Page. Surfy Surfy was actually a huge influence on this humble little blog, as it was (and still is!) one of the few places online to feature great photos of notable surfboards. You should also check out the physical location, now the Bing Surfboards store in Leucadia, and their cool little coffee shop, which is unsurprisingly named Coffee Coffee. The Frye K Model featured above is currently listed for sale on The Board Source; you can check out the listing here.

According to “The Caretaker of Intangible Ingredients“, the excellent overview of Skip’s shapes published in The Surfer’s Journal, Frye has been producing the K Model since 1978. Here’s what the article has to say about Skip’s K Model shape:

“The K might be the closest thing to a ‘shortboard’ in Skip’s orbit. The shape blends a tight, rounded pintail (something you might see on Occy’s old Rusty boards) with a racy shape that feels like you’re riding a stretched shortboard. Gun-length K Models have been well-surfed by local underground chargers on major swell days at Todos, Salsipuedes, and Little Makaha. While many hold that the model-name references Skip’s Mission Bay High classmate, Barry Kanaiaupuni (who rode Hynson Red Fins), the actual namesake is Pacific Beach surfer Timmy Kessler, who helped with the design.”

“The Caretaker of Intangible Ingredients”, The Surfer’s Journal

More than anything else, I just wanted to post pictures of this stunning surfboard. As we all know, the market for Skip’s shapes is pretty frothy these days. I have no one to blame for this but myself, as I have definitely considered shelling out way too much cash for one of Skip’s coveted sticks. The Skip Frye K Model measures in at 8’4″ x 21 1/4″ x 2 5/8″, and the asking price is $2,800. (Here are two previous posts I wrote on the topic of prices for Skip Frye surfboards.)

The details on this bad boy are killer. I love the triple stringer and the glass on marine ply keels. You simply cannot go wrong with a coke bottle resin tint; I’m confident I will never, ever get sick of boards that look like this one.

It looks like there’s a slight bit of fading near the nose, and the Boardsource link indicates some expected pressure dings on the deck. But I don’t mind visible signs of usage on a vintage board, especially one like this K Model, which is begging to be ridden regularly. I have exactly zero say here, since I won’t be buying this board, but part of me will be very disappointed if this Skip Frye K Model just ends up as a wall hanger.

And of course we have to go with an obligatory shot of Skip’s signature hand drawn wings logo:

Thanks again to JP at Surfy Surfy for sharing the pics of this beautiful Skip Frye K Model. You can see the listing for the board here.

Social Media Roundup: October 2019

Greetings, Shredderz! Regular readers know the rules: keep scrolling for some of my favorite vintage surfboard-related social media posts from the past month or so.

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On the front lawn of the Surfection board store in Byron Bay last Tuesday evening. Dean Shoppe who owns the store is holding a 6'4" twin fin which is the board I was riding at Off The Wall in the photo on the cover of my book. I'm holding one of the first boards I shaped in Dick Brewers room at Chuns Reef in 1977 on the North Shore. It was a custom single fin for my friend Leonard Brady & for its age it's in immaculate condition. Luke Carter is holding a 6'8" single fin "Sting" shaped by the inventor of the Sting design Ben Aipa. This was one of my boards & I rode it in the Rip Curl Bells Pro in 1976. All 3 boards are now owned by Luke who lives on the "Sunny" coast. It was awesome to get to see & feel them again, they brought back lots of memories. @dean_sho2 @chris_athas @ljmrc @surfectionbyron @dick_brewer @aipasurf @dukeaipa @quiksilver @ripcurl_aus @mikypicon @pierre_agnes #markrichardssurfboards #markrichardsshapes #mrtwinfin #mrretrotwinfin #mrretrosinglefin @bernie_baker1 @luisrealcollection

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For all my ignorance of Australian surf culture and history, I remain a huge, unabashed fan. And as an American, I’m particularly interested in how Australian and American surfers often exchanged ideas in Hawaii, the birthplace of the sport that is conveniently located between the two continents. When Mark Richards wasn’t riding his own designs to world titles — still an incredible, and perhaps underrated, feat — he was a devotee of Ben Aipa’s iconic sting. There’s a Dick Brewer shape tucked away in that group, and the Al Dove airbrushes are classic, too. I’ve been meaning to do a longer post on MR’s love affair with the sting, so hopefully I get around to it sooner than later.

Luis Real is a fixture in the Social Media Roundup, and that’s because he keeps buying rad boards and posting about them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think I prefer the Seventies T&C single fins to their more famous (and colorful) Eighties thruster counterparts. This one was shaped by Dennis Pang and it has a very similar color scheme to a Glenn Minami-shaped T&C Dane Kealoha model I wrote up a little while back.

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#inspiration #rickrasmussen ✊️

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The Rick Rasmussen picture above is in honor of the absolutely epic run of swell that New York has seen this past October. RIP to the original Slick Rick the Ruler.

Skip Frye ordered a board from Marc Andreini?! How awesome is that! I don’t know Mr Frye, but everything I’ve heard about him echoes my experiences with Andreini, who has been gracious, patient, and unfailingly generous with his time and knowledge in our limited interactions. Oh, and yeah, they both shape awesome boards, of course.

Is there anything more classic than a pristine Gerry Lopez single fin? I can’t stop staring at the outline on this thing. Give Liquid Salt / Glenn a follow; he posts beautiful pictures with consistently informative captions.

Clipz: NYC Duct Tape & More

Greetings, Shredderz! Let’s cut the small talk and get to it, shall we? Keep reading for some surf vids I’ve recently discovered and/or enjoyed.

Skip Frye Drone Footage

This is a simple, modest little edit but I got such a huge thrill out of it. I think drone cinematography can get a little out of hand at times, but I love the way the aerial footage complements Skip’s timeless lines. There’s something striking about that big yellow board against the backdrop of the ocean on a mellow, uncrowded day.

“A State of Play” by Drew McPherson / Nathan Henshaw

Need Essentials are the folks behind the excellent Torren Martyn edits you’ve probably seen recently. (For what it’s worth, Martyn also got a big feature in the latest issue of The Surfer’s Journal, which is definitely worth a read.) Here, surfer Drew McPherson explores some lesser-known Aussie lineups. I particularly dig the footage with the blue mid-length board.

Beau Cram for O’Riginals

Speaking of Aussies, does anyone do slang better than our friends south of the equator? The caption for this video, which was released as part of O’Neill’s new “O’Riginals” series, describes Beau Cram as “the son of Eighties power mongrel Richard Cram.” Sadly, my below-average surfing means no one will ever describe me as a power mongrel, but this cool little edit helps ease the pain a bit. I like the J Bay portion, where Cram rides a sweet 6’8″ Christenson Surfboards Long Phish through some classic conditions.

Vans Duct Tape Invitational New York by Stab Magazine

By all accounts this fall has been an epic one for New York surfing. As an Empire State native turned California transplant, I’m always looking for an excuse to shine the spotlight on the East Coast. Joel Tudor and Vans’ Duct Tape Invitational came to Rockaway Beach in between epic swells, and the video above spotlights some of the contestants and their shapes. It’s a cool look at an eclectic and talented crowd with equipment to match.

La Jolla Surf Systems: Sagas of Shred

Greetings, Shredderz! It’s Thursday again, which means we’re serving up some red hot scans of old surf ads as part of the Sagas of Shred series. Today we’ve got an unlikely all star cast in an ad for La Jolla Surf Systems. The ad originally appeared in the February 1983 issue of Surfer Magazine (Vol 24, No 2). I assume La Jolla Surf Systems was an old San Diego surf shop, but that’s about all I know. What’s really interesting is the collection of shapers featured in the ad (and one notable craftsman who apparently didn’t make it to the shoot on time). The ad features the late Bill Caster, whose boards are still coveted among a selection of San Diego locals; Gary McNabb, of Nectar Surfboards fame; Tim Bessell, who is still shaping today; Eric “Bird” Huffman, founder of Bird’s Surf Shed; and of course, a young Shawn Stussy. If you look closely at the bottom right of the ad you’ll see a gorgeous-looking Stussy twin fin with purple rails and some wings in the tail. I’m a little intrigued by Stussy’s inclusion, as I believe he is the only non-San Diego local in the names listd above. While the ad mentions that La Jolla Surf Systems has Skip Frye boards in stock, if you look below Bird’s photo you’ll see “Skip Frye — gone fishing.” To me this suggests Skip was originally supposed to take part in the shoot, but that’s just a guess. Thirty six plus years after the ad was shot, I can’t even imagine the sheer luxury of walking into a surf shop and seeing a bunch of Skips on the racks, to say nothing of the Stussy boards! If you read this blog you know that my bread and butter is poking fun at the ridiculousness of Eighties art direction, but I’m still too starstruck by all the shapers in the ad to come up with anything halfway decent.

Mahalo for reading and don’t be afraid to come back next Thursday for more Sagas of Shred!

Vintage Skip Frye Fish

Greetings, Shredderz! Right as the weekend comes to a close we’re sneaking in with a quick entry in the Price Checks series. Most of the time Price Checks features a few different boards with a common theme, but today we’ve only got one sled for you. Pictured below is a vintage Skip Frye fish, and the price tag is not for the faint of heart.

The board you see above is 5’5″ vintage Skip Frye fish that is currently listed for sale on Craigslist in Skip’s hometown of San Diego. You can find a link to the listing here. According to the original listing (it has since been edited — hold that thought), the board was shaped in the Seventies. [CORRECTION: Thanks to the knowledgeable folks who have helped date the board. Pacific Surf Glas was opened in 1988 or so, and it’s like this fish was shaped around 1990.]

For starters, the vintage Skip Frye fish is a beautiful board. Frye has spoken before about how his fish designs were influenced by Steve Lis, who is widely credited with creating the shape in the first place. The board is by no means in perfect condition, but I don’t mind. Would I prefer a completely flawless board? I suppose. But I think the slight discoloration and the few blemishes actually lend it a bit of character. The leash plug looks like it was added after the fact, but that’s my only real quibble.

I’m also intrigued by the Pacific Surf Glas laminate, which you can barely see peeking out from between what I assume are Larry Gephart fins. If I had to guess this is probably an old San Diego glass shop that is no more. I love these little details on boards, though, and the more obscure the better.

The rub here is the price. The board was initially listed for a $3,995, which almost made me fall out of my chair. Before the grumbling starts, let me be clear: my goal is to analyze the price, not the character of the person setting it. As boring or soulless as it might sound, I tend to believe in free markets (though my grades in the one econ class I took in college would indicate otherwise.) Like it or not, Skip’s boards are expensive, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Still, I thought I was immune to Skip Frye sticker shock, but seeing this board proved otherwise.

It looks as if others agree, as the price has been cut to $3,500. I still think that’s too much. It’s also worth noting the board has been listed for almost two weeks now. As a general rule of thumb, if there’s a Skip Frye on Craigslist and the price is anywhere close to being justifiable, it won’t last very long. Consider the board below, which didn’t even last a week on Craigslist. The board below is a 10’7″ Skip Frye Eagle glider and it was listed for $3800 — which, by the way, is still an absolute shitload of money for a surfboard! I don’t think you can look at these two boards and determine that the Skip Frye Eagle is worth only $300 more (or $200 less, if you go by the original price on the vintage Skip Frye fish.)

I’m all for vintage boards and for paying extra for something with historical significance. And yes, you can likely say that any vintage Skip board is historically significant. You won’t get any arguments from me there. But as much as I dig this rad Skip Frye fish, I suspect the price will have to take another haircut before the board moves. Who knows, though, and now is as good a time as any to remind you that I’m just someone who has nothing better to do than write about vintage surfboards in his free time.

Anyway, hopefully you weren’t offended by the talk about prices, and enjoyed the pics of a rad board from one of California’s all-time great shapers. Thanks for reading!

Price Checks: G&S Skip Frye Surfboard

Greetings, Shredderz! Today we’ve taking a very quick peek into the market for Skip Frye surfboards. Anecdotally, I would say the market for Skip’s boards has gone bonkers recently. I say this without judgment. As someone who would love to own a Skip Frye surfboard, I’m disappointed, as the chances of me acquiring one just got slimmer. But I try not to take it personally. I have no more control over what strangers are willing to pay for Skip’s boards than the surf forecast. And if talk of used surfboard prices really makes your blood boil, well, then I’d hate be waiting in line next to you at the DMV. Anyway, here are two examples of vintage Skip Frye sales that illustrate my point. Two years ago I wrote up a rare, amazing Skip Frye single fin that sold for a measly $1K on Craigslist. I’m still kicking myself for not pouncing on it. In contrast, Mollusk was selling a 10’6″ Skip Frye Magic model for a cool $4,375 not even six months ago. It’s not an apples to apples comparison — the single fin is a vintage board that needed work; the Magic model looked newer and untouched — but I feel comfortable in saying that prices for Skip’s boards have been steadily going up and to the right.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this G&S Skip Frye surfboard that recently sold on eBay. You can find a link to the original listing here. (Note: eBay will automatically redirect you to a new listing; you’ll have to click on the G&S Skip Frye board listing to see the post). All the photos here are via the eBay listing; you can click them to enlarge.

The G&S Skip Frye surfboard pictured above is a single fin. I’m not sure which model it is, and frankly, I have trouble keeping them all straight. I’m also too lazy to look it up in the excellent Surfer’s Journal feature on Skip’s all-time quiver, but that shouldn’t stop you. The G&S Skip Frye surfboard measures in at 7’2″ x 21″. I’m not sure how thick the board is, and I’m having trouble figuring out when it was shaped. If I had to guess I would say sometime in the Eighties or the Nineties.

The final sale price for the G&S Skip Frye surfboard was $1725. I think there are two factors that potentially drove down the price. First, the board had a couple of open dings on the rails and the tail. However, according to the listing, there were limited pressure dings, and the board didn’t have any twist or delam. Second, the board was available only for local pickup from Ormond Beach, Florida.

Even so, I would say this is a relatively well-priced board — only when measuring by the insane standards for Skip’s boards, of course. $1725 for a board you have to pick up from Florida and still requires a little ding repair is a lot to swallow. On the other hand, it’s a Skip Frye. On a personal level, I love the boards Skip shaped for G&S over the years. There is something timeless about the combo between the G&S bowtie logo and the septuagenarian San Diego craftsman’s signature angel wings.

If you think I’m crazy for even attempting to justify this price for a used surfboard, well, I can’t say you’re wrong. Ultimately, a surfboard is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it, and in the case of this G&S Skip Frye surfboard, the market Gods — benevolent or otherwise — have spoken.

Holy Smoke: Clipz

Alright Shredderz, let me let you in on a little secret. It relates to one of my all time favorite surf-related accounts on YouTube. This is not a young pro who alternates between demolishing Lowers and then charging death defying Indian Ocean pits. It’s a lot more modest than that. There is something incredibly relatable — and cool! — about Holy Smoke’s YouTube page, and I find myself returning to his videos on a regular basis. I don’t know the gentleman’s name, but he is the owner of a Japanese surf shop named Holy Smoke.

The formula for Holy Smoke’s YouTube videos is as follows: it’s GoPro footage taken somewhere in Southern California; the waves are consistently good, but not amazing; the surfing is solid, but again, not mind blowing; and as a regular foot, he almost always goes right. There’s never any music. The only sound comes from the wind, the waves breaking, and the board moving across water, and the occasional squeak from the GoPro being adjusted. The end resulting is something oddly smoothing and stoke inducing, and I can’t get enough.

I think the reason I dig Holy Smoke’s videos is because they feel more relatable than the standard surf fantasy being peddled by the usual outlets. Now, don’t get me wrong: I love Surfer, Stab, Surfer’s Journal, etc. John John’s “View from a Blue Moon” remains the single best surfing film I have ever seen. That said, I will never surf macking Pipeline, nor do I particularly want to. In some ways, that’s the point, and I enjoy that aspect as much as the next person.

But Holy Smoke’s videos have an attainable quality I find very appealing. It also doesn’t hurt that Holy Smoke wields a quiver of awesome boards, including shapes by folks like Skip Frye, Marc Andreini, Greg Liddle and Josh Hall, to name a few. (Holy Smoke looks to be Hall’s Japanese distributor). See below for a selection of some of my favorite Holy Smoke clips. My only complaint is that he doesn’t film more of them!

This video features a lovely 7’11” Skip Frye swallow tail The board has a beautiful yellow color and a rad pin line to boot. I’m not sure exactly what model it is.

There really isn’t a ton of footage online of people actually surfing Skip Frye boards, although Instagram has some highlights here and there. I love that Holy Smoke takes these Skips through their paces.

Josh Hall is perhaps one of Skip’s best known proteges, and he shapes some pretty epic looking boards.

Thanks for reading and make sure you check out Holy Smoke’s blog, and give him a follow on Instagram, too!

Photo at the top of the page via Holy Smoke’s blog, featuring a lineup of Josh Hall surfboards.

Shaper Spotlight: Surfboards by Todd Pinder

Greetings, Shredderz! I’d like to welcome all of you to a brand spanking new series on the blog, titled “Shaper Spotlight.” Up until now, this humble blog has focused mostly on vintage surfboards. I think it’s also important to profile contemporary shapers who are building boards today. There’s a ton of rich history found in older surfboards, and that will always be a big part of Shred Sledz. That said, there’s only one way to ensure hand shaped surfboards continue to get their due, and that’s by supporting the talented craftsmen who build them.

Last month I took my first ever trip to Oahu, and during that time I was lucky enough to meet up with Todd Pinder, the man behind Surfboards by Todd Pinder. Pinder plies his trade in Honolulu, where he painstakingly crafts each and every board by hand. This doesn’t just apply to shaping, however — Pinder is one of those rare shapers who also glasses all of his own creations, too.

Todd Pinder 1
Todd Pinder creates all his boards by hand, shaping and glassing his creations. Here are a few boards waiting to be finished. Love the bold but simple red color.

Pinder might be a modern surfboard builder, but he draws upon some very deep roots from years of living in Hawaii and working alongside some well respected folks, like Carl Schaper (pronounced Shopper) and Donald Takayama. Pinder also continues to provide boards for folks like Joel Tudor and his sons.

Pinder’s shop is filled with a bunch of rad vintage sticks. See below for a neat Seventies Greg Liddle single fin. I can’t recall off the top of my head whether it was a hull, but I really dig the unusual pattern on the deck. Click the photos below to enlarge.

I got to see the Bing David Nuuhiwa Noseriding model that Joel Tudor posted about below. Todd told me the Nuuhiwa is a little shorter than other stock DN Noseriding models from the same time period.

The single coolest board Pinder showed me was an insane Joe Quigg paddleboard. Make sure you click the photos below to enlarge, as they show off the paddleboard in a bit more detail. Check out the squared off tail. The Joe Quigg paddleboard has incredibly thick rails, and I think it’s about 12′ long, so there’s plenty of paddle power to spare. You can see Pinder posing alongside this board in the post at the top of the page.

Here are some earlier photos, via Pinder’s Facebook page, that show Joe Quigg alongside Todd and the paddleboard.

That’s not all Pinder had stashed away, however. Upstairs in his shaping room Pinder also had a Seventies Surf Line Hawaii single fin shaped by Buddy Dumphy and a Gordon & Smith Skip Frye from the late Sixties. Click the photos below to enlarge. I couldn’t quite figure out which model the G&S / Skip Frye board is — maybe a “Speed Board”? — but it’s interesting that it has a small text G&S logo, instead of the classic bow tie logo that we all know and love. Pinder tells me the outline on the G&S / Skip Frye board has inspired some of his own egg shapes.

If you’re still not satisfied, well, there’s more. Pinder also showed off a sick Morey-Pope Sopwith Camel. The Sopwith Camel is one of Tom Morey’s many quirky and incredible Transition Era shapes, featuring an early stringerless design. I could go on a rant about how Tom Morey might be the most underrated inventor in surfing history, but I’ll save that for another time.

Todd Pinder Morey Pope Sopwith Camel.jpg
Pinder with a very cool Morey-Pope Sopwith Camel.

And while Pinder’s shaping room is filled with vintage gems, I’m even more stoked about his current creations. I mentioned it earlier, but it’s worth repeating: Pinder shapes and glasses all of his boards. Yes, all of them. Surfboards are often marketed as bespoke goods, but the manufacturing reality can be the opposite. When you order a surfboard from Pinder, you know it was built by one set of very capable hands from start to finish. If you even have the slightest appreciation for craftsmanship, that should resonate with you. As a bonus, Todd is a very friendly and surf stoked individual.

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Pinder posing alongside some of his newer creations. Pic via Surfboards by Todd Pinder Facebook Page

If you’re in the market for a beautiful new board, hit up Surfboards by Todd Pinder and tell him we sent you! You can also follow him on Instagram here and on Facebook here. Thanks Todd for inviting me to your studio and for sharing the story behind some killer surfboards!

Social Media Roundup: March Madness

Aloha, Shredderz! This entry is being written from beautiful Hawaii. More on that later! In the meantime, enjoy a selection of some recent social media posts from the wonderful world of vintage surfboards.

I’ve posted many of Jimmy Metyko’s photos, and as long as he keeps publishing great ones, I don’t see any reason to stop! Metyko’s photographs documented the Santa Barbara surf scene during Tom Curren’s rise, and the results are amazing. Here’s a shot of Al Merrick posing alongside two of his creations. This must have been sometime during the early to mid Eighties, given the thruster and the twin fin, and I like how the photo gives a clear idea of the rocker on both shapes.

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The name Fletcher means “arrow maker.” As with everything in life, there are times when you’ll make a u-turn and be led into the wrong way. But I think, overall, I’ve been pointed towards the right direction ——————————————————————————— (📷: Flame) #astrodeck #theoriginator #since1976 #wavewarriors #adrenalinesurfseries #thethrillisback #sideslipboogie #surfhistory #surffilm #fletcherdna #genepoolofcool #herbiefletcher #dibifletcher #artist #inventor #performanceart #wrecktangles #wallofdisaster #archipelagos #bloodwaterseries #thebiglick #caseofarrows #rvca #rvcasurf #flame #tbt @dibifletcher @astrodeck @wavewarriors @fletcherdna @rvca @rvcasurf @surfer_magazine

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Here’s a great photo of Herbie Fletcher taken by the late, great Larry “Flame” Moore. I love that Fletcher is putting one of his surfboards on a rail. There’s also some great trivia, which I had never realized before: Fletcher means arrow maker, hence the arrow logo on Herbie’s shapes!

Here’s a killer shot of Carl Ekstrom taken by Jon Foster. I was actually shocked when I read the caption — I just assumed this photo was far more recent than forty three years ago! Ekstrom is widely credited with inventing the asymmetrical surfboard back in the Sixties. Most recently Ekstrom has been collaborating with Ryan Burch. I’d love to know the back story behind the board featured in Foster’s photo! The photo at the top of the page features Carl Ekstrom posing next to one of his asymmetrical designs in the Sixties, and was originally found on the San Diego Reader website.

Last but not least, here’s Skip Frye posing alongside one of his signature fishes. How about that killer airbrush!