Mark Richard’s Winning Smirnoff Surfboard

Smirnoff Contest, Hawaii

1st Mark Richards (Winning Board ) Featured
2nd Ian Cairns
3rd Rabbit Batholomew
Other finalists  Reno Abellira (H), Jeff Hakman (H) and Shaun Tomson (SA)

To surfers born after 1980, Mark Richards is just the old guy whose record Kelly Slater broke. But not long ago, MR had another title, that of the greatest surfer of all time. So dominant was he, that no one regarded him with anything but awe, even as he paddled out in a silver wetsuit with a Superman logo on his board. It’s doubtful that even Kelly could pull that one off.

Richards was born in Newcastle, Australia, the only child of a car salesman. He was surfing by age six at Mereweather Beach, and his dad’s car dealership eventually transformed into a surf shop. His mom and dad surfed a bit … Read More »

There are few aspects of surf culture that Ben Aipa hasn’t touched. At the peak of his physical talents during the 1960s and 1970s, Aipa was a ferocious competitor and powerful free surf presence in every lineup he entered. Then, after establishing Aipa Surfboards in 1970, the Honolulu native also became one of the most innovative board designers in history. He is credited with the invention of both the swallowtail and stinger design variations, a series of tail-rail-fin breakthroughs that helped feed the dynamic performances of rising stars like Michael Ho, Larry Bertlemann, Buttons Kaluhiokalani, and Mark Liddell. In the wake of these innovations, Aipa quickly established a reputation as a go-to shaper for boards that could enhance the low-slung and aggressive style that soon became the vanguard of performance during that era. Afterward, … Read More »