Category: Collections
24th July
Surfboard collector Mark “Buggs” Arico discusses a few of his prized possessions on Surfermag.com
“It all started with one of Tom Curren’s boards. I was picking up some boards for a surf trip and saw it at my friend’s shop: a 1980s 6’5? Al Merrick hand-shaped for Curren. I rode that board on my trip, and it was such an amazing feeling. As you get older and start reflecting on your formative surfing years, you think about the boards that defined that time. Riding that board inspired me to start collecting these pieces of surfing’s past.
“I have hundreds of boards now, spanning from early-1900s Waikiki redwood boards all the way up to modern shortboards, but I’m most passionate about the era from the late ’60s through the ’80s. There was a lot happening in surfboard design during that time. We evolved from riding single-fin longboards to tri-fin shortboards in just a few years, and … Read More »
5th February
Tony Anjo
Tony Anjo Shaper of Lightning Bolt 1970’s
Tony Anjo was one of the Lightning Bolt shapers of the 70’s, who relocated to Hilo. During the prime time of Lightning Bolt Hawaii during mid to late 70’s Lightning Bolt had a Stable of Hawaiian Shapers, one of which was Tony Anjo. Tony also shaped under some other Labels such as Hawaii Surf Designs. I have very little details and or stories of his tenure under each label, But I’am stoked to have acquired some of his mid to late 70’s works which represent a good cross section of Board Designs for small to large Hawaiian conditions.
KEY: O= Original, R= Repaired, RF= Refurbished. Condition of board rated: 1(worst)-10(best)
Board Dimensions
Length: 6′ 7″
Width: 19″ … Read More »
30th January
Petrillo
“When I first started working here around 1967, I was sitting on the floor playing poker with Frank.” TK explained. “He had been nicknamed Frog by that time. A guy walked in the door this particular day with two boards under his arms. They had no logos on them. One was a red one and the other blue and he wanted to sell them. Frog asked him where he had gotten the boards and he said I made them myself in my garage. They were really good boards and Frog liked them. Up to that point, The Frog House had only sold used boards and a few wetsuits (which were still relatively new product at the time).”
“The guy who brought the boards in was Frank Petrillo. So Frank “Frog” Jensen and … Read More »
7th January
Double Double By Tyler Warren
Stoked to be the “assist” to the Inspiration of the DOUBLE DOUBLE by TW. It was all or in part Inspired from our travels to Mexico in 2013 with Tom Curren. TC had a bag of different blades of which was a TOMO Shooter he was ripping on. Thus, TW decided to make his version of “what is to come” and i convinced T to build me one, 5’3″ x 18.75 x 2.5 (of which I have yet to ride, whaaaaa!!! see below) yes, terrible. But I also ordered one for my kid from Santa TW for 2013 Xmas (featured in the video) a 5’2″. Tomo has inspired a lot of people to stop and take notice on cutting out the fat and riding the meat. Stay Tuned and informed … Read More »
2nd January
Union
UNION
Acid Splash Union Keel Twinnie. I believe Union was based on the East coast . I acquired this board out of the Nordine Collection and he acquired it from Pat Magee out of Texas. This board either grows on you or bores on you. But regardless, nice representation of what was and color work. All original with the exception of some ding repairs. This is in my pile of “Want to Ride” so stay tuned . B
KEY: O= Original, R= Repaired, RF= Refurbished. Condition of board rated: 1(worst)-10(best)
Length: 6’5″
Width: 19 3/8″
Thickness: 2 1/4″
Condition: ???
Click below for a detailed image:
21st December
Santos
KEY: O= Original, R= Repaired, RF= Refurbished. Condition of board rated: 1(worst)-10(best)
Board Dimensions
Length: 6′ 3″
Width: 18″ 7/8
Thickness: 2″ 3/4I acquired this board from Ebay on an Estate Sale. Apparently the prior Collector of this Hawaiian Bolt died suddenly and his Estate was liquidating. This is a Wayne Santos who was a 1st tear Bolt Shaper back in the day when Bolt was hot. Like what we call today Ghost Shapers he was behind the scenes of Lopez shaping under his label and surfing with the legend. All original conditions, water tight, some sun fading on bottom tail, yet, deep orange / red with a vibrant blue bolt. This squash tail design was popular on those smaller days and town surf. Signed by … Read More »
12th December
Bradshaw
Arguably the best big wave rider on the North Shore during the 80’s, along with contemporaries like Mark Foo, Darrick Doerner and Brock Lile, Ken Bradshaw lifted the bar on paddle-in big wave surfing. His exploits at Waimea Bay became legendary, and he climaxed his competitive career by winning the prestigious Duke Kahanamoku Surfing Classic in 1982, which launched his reputation as one of the North Shore’s best. Parlaying his notoriety to commercial success throughout the 80’s he was one of the top finishers in “ The Eddie” event when first held at Waimea Bay in 1986.
On January 28, 1998, Ken rode the biggest wave ever ridden in history on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii at an outer reef known as Outside Log Cabins. This wave was considered to be in excess of 85 feet. That … Read More »
7th December
Robert August
The August family moved to the Southern California coastline from Arizona during the early part of the 20th Century. The youngest of two sons, Orall W. August was a CIF swimming champion at Long Beach High School. Since his school’s athletic facilities included an Olympic style pool, super-star Olympian, Duke Kahanamoku, (the Michael Phelps of that era,) would train there for the upcoming Games. The Duke befriended young O. W. (later to be known as ‘Blackie’) and introduced him to the sport of surfing, bestowing upon him a liberal dose of the Aloha Spirit in the process.
Orall August had to drop out of high school to help his family through the tough economic circumstances of the times. By now an experienced waterman, he would camp out at Palos Verde Cove for days on end, fishing and diving … Read More »
27th November
Going South with Tom Curren, Tyler Warren and Friends
This last summer I finally persuaded TC to go South with Jalian and I to ride some fun right handers along with his son, Frank. Days before departure, Tyler Warren wanted to jump in and join in on the adventure. And of course, I couldn’t refuse. We ended up scoring some good waves, with good conditions and all had a great time. Plenty of variety of boards were ridden from old school 70’s to the most modern latest and greatest from Tomo. This here is just a rough glimps of what was.
Enjoy – Buggs
13th November
Derek Hynd’s French Connection Finless Surfboard – Sonis
During my visit to Jeffrey’s Bay this last summer, I was fortunate to exchange speed runs at Super Tubes and talk story on Surfboards in between set waves with Derek Hynd. DH extended the invite up to the compound on the point to further talk story on surfboards of the past and what is in store for the future. He was intrigued with the Buggs Deep Collection and the provenance it holds and preserves for generations to come. So he decided to pull out something special out of the back and walla appeared the Sonis French Connection. A contemporary surfboard transformed to the finless world of DH. Tune in on the video for the full story and enjoy. A true classic and addition to the Buggs Collection. – B