Known for his distinctive designs and innovative style, Jeff Ho has been a seminal force in the surf and skateboarding worlds for more than three decades. After creating his first skateboard at age 8, he went on to craft his first surfboard at age 14 – but he perfected his design with a board he made two years later. His passion for surfing and desire to find a board that performed to his standards led to a new obsession – designing and building custom surfboards.

He began building surfboards in his garage, re-making old boards he found on the beach. But Jeff had his own theories about how a surfboard should look and perform, and his ideas were far from mainstream. In 1966, Jeff found a new home at Robert’s Surfboards in Playa Del … Read More »

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 »

Original Article by Jay DiMartino of World Champions of Surfing

Peter “PT” Townend had a professional surfing career before there was such a thing.  Before MR and Curren. Before Slater and Fanning, Peter Townend was the “best in the world.” Some argue that the inaugural tour was loosely planned and the competition was quite a bit less developed than today, but his title remains. Hailing from the talent rich soil of Coolangata, Australia; PT went on to transcend competitive surfing to become an ardent supporter and organizer of modern surfing in the United States. His resume exudes commitment to the sport and art of surfing as PT has been a competitor, movie stuntman, contest organizer, writer, publisher, marketer, and coach to future superstars; serving as an embodiment of the professional career surfer he hoped to create.

Peter Townend … Read More »

Kelly Slater’s impact on surfing mirrors the 90s Internet revolution. A piece of new technology originally dismissed as a cute, space-age toy that ended up changing the world in every conceivable way — from performance to money to records to design to longevity. Before Kelly, surf stars were just that: surf stars. After? They were highly paid, professional athletes with international appeal and limitless possibilities. The scariest fact? He’s still not finished.

Slater got his feet wet on the bunny slopes of Cocoa Beach, a sleepy Central Florida town made famous by a sexy, prime-time genie in the ’60s. Cocoa Beach, in Slater’s estimation, is as good a place as any to inherit a solid foundation as a surfer. “It breaks farther out,” he says, “so it’s easier to learn. If I had the choice of learning in Florida … Read More »

The surf world is full of specialists. There are aerial wizards, tow-in nuts, contest machines and freesurfing free spirits. Longboarders, long-johners,watermen and hellmen. Many surfers can claim knighthood in one or two disciplines, but few, if any, have the broad spectrum of skills that enables them to wear any hat they choose.

And then there’s Shane Dorian.

Since turning up on the surf media map in the late ’80s, the once-tiny kid from the Big Island has won a Hawaiian state title, pushed the paddle-in limits on the North Shore’s outer reefs, redefined deep tuberiding at spots like Backdoor, helped spearhead the “New School” of surfing, won WCT events, contended for a world title, towed in at spots like Jaws and continues to be on the frontier of cutting-edge, high-performance surfing on flawless canvasses like the Mentawais. And if that’s not … Read More »

Tom Blake One of the Most Important Watermen of this Century

Thomas Edward Blake was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 8, 1902. Eleven months later, his mother Blanche Wooliver Blake, died from tuberculosis. Devastated by his wife’s death. Tom Blake, Sr. gave young Tom to family members to be raised for the next seventeen years. In 1919, Tom Blake headed west facing many lonely, hungry years ahead, riding freight trains and taking various jobs in New York, Florida and California.

In 1922, Tom became a vegetarian and a pioneer of the health food movement. He has stuck to a philosophy of exercise and strict dietary habits. His understanding and perception of nature has become an inspiration to many.
Tom adapted to life on the California beaches easily. Blake was a “natural” waterman and with less … Read More »

One of the most stylish and successful American goofyfoots of all time was almost an Australian. That’s right: Rob Machado, Cardiff’s humble, smooth-flowing prodigal son, former world runner-up and 2000 Pipe Master could have easily been a cocky, animal-nicknamed ocker who had a single purpose in life: stop those American wankers. And the scary thing is, he just might have done it.

Machado was born in a Sydney hospital to Jim and Chris Machado, a California surfer and British student who had met at an Australian ski lodge in the mid ’60s. Rob’s father, Jim, who had grown up surfing under Ricky Grigg’s tutelage, decided to hit the road after a short stint in the military and a couple of years of community college. Australia was the highlight of his travels, and with the escalating war in … Read More »

In the mid-’70s, surfing was wild — long hair was paramount, contest conformity was bogus and feral quests for mystical waves were the road to nirvana. The last thing the sport wanted was a professional, well-spoken figure at the helm, but that’s what it got in Shaun Tomson. Years ahead of his contemporaries, he stood alone with articulate grace and redefined tuberiding in the process.

Tomson was born in Durban, South Africa, where he picked up his first longboard at age 10. He made the transition to shortboards as the revolution encompassed the world in years to follow. By the time the ’60s were out, Tomson had won the South African Boys’ title, attended his Bar Mitzvah and had his first experience in Hawaiian surf.

In 1973, Tomson performed his civic duty by serving 18 months in … Read More »

Lightning Bolt Brand | From Surfboards, to Silence, to Resurgence

Lightning Bolt was one of the first heavy-hitter surf companies back in the early ‘70s. Born from legendary shapers Jack Shipley and Gerry Lopez, surfers knew they were getting quality product and flocked to Hawaii to get their hands on Lightning Bolt boards and apparel. Though the presence of Lightning Bolt fell off the radar after its hay-day, Lightning Bolt has lived on and prospered in Europe for the past 20 years. Jon Paskowitz, now president of Lightning Bolt, witnessed the growth and success of the company firsthand in his youth. Now two years into the re-launch of Lightning Bolt in the U.S., there’s none better than the legendary Paskowitz name to re-establish the hype and put Lightning Bolt back on the map. Here’s Jon … Read More »

“Surf Design” shaped by Larry McElheny for pipeline charger, Howard Farrant.  Pintail Pipeline special, that was used by Howard on the North Shore during the early/mid 70’s.     Randy Rarick Hawaii Surfing Promotions

KEY: O= Original, R= Repaired, RF= Refurbished. Condition of board rated: 1(worst)-10(best)

Board Dimensions
Length: 8′ 5″
Width: 20″ 
Thickness: 3″ 1/4

This is a great example of a 1975 Pipe Gun.  Ridden in solid pipe, see photo above of pipe charger Howard Farrant riding this exact board.  Farrant, still living in Hawaii, artist, teacher and soul underground charger back in the day.  Some minor ding repairs, glossed and polished otherwise all original. (9)r I acquired this pipe gun before the 2007 Hawaiian Surf Auction, as it did … Read More »