HISTORY

Before he won the World Title in 83, Eppo rode for Paipo Bodyboards  who later changed there name to Rheopaipo due to copyright infringement. Paipo was run by John Holmes on the Central Coast. Heres one of his well used vehicles from the Stroh collection.

Bodyboarding has long been known for being different and breaking traditional boundaries. Check out this air drop advertisement from 84  from Morey Boogie, it  gets your attention.

Jack The Ripper Lindholm was the sports first media identity and it was mostly due to his unique style of riding at Pipeline. Jack rode in a crouched position with one knee dropped and his body further back on his board than how most Dropknee riders do it today. It was labelled the Jack Stance after him. Years later it became known as Dropknee. This sequence by Tom Boyle appeared in the 1983 Dec issue of Surfer mag, the article by Tom was called Boogie To The Max.

Doug Robson from Cronulla in Australia was the hottest rising star of Aussie bodyboarding around the late 80′s. Dougy had taken over from Chaz McCall at the Island freefalling and pulling into some incredible liquid caves plus he was making a name for himself in the contest scene making the finals of the Int. Pro Comp held at Cronulla Point. Doug had a unique big air launching style that all the kids labelled Doug Airs, including Eppo who took them even further in the coming years. At Suckrock in particular Robson would bust high and float well above the lip. The pic below is Dougy in full flight late 80s by Chris Stroh. 

Since Bodyboarding magazine arrived in 1985 more and more titles have surfaced. Some have survived the test of time while others are now just a memory. The Internet has definitely had an effect but like everything else the strong always survive. Sure the net is instant but  ‘theres nothing quite like having the feel of a new magazine in your hands to scan over the latest images. The following mags are just a few that have graced us from around the Globe. Bodyboarder International Mag from the USA had longtime media identity Patti Serano behind the wheel. Flipper is from Japan with a large slice of the editorial dedicated to fashion and the girls.Vert  is the long running mag from Portugal. Pit mag from the USA was the badboy of publications with its often contreversial coverage thanks to Cameron Steele and Co. Tres 60 Bodyboard mag is from Spain while Spin Air from France kept the Euro bodyboarders well informed.

In the early 80′s Ben Severson rode for Morey Boogie Bodyboards and this freefall pic riding the new Mach 77 was on the back of the Morey Boogie catalogue. Ben was one of the first members of the Morey Team along with Mike Stewart, Jay Reale and Keith Sasaki.

In the 80′s if one of these invites ended up in your letter box you were stoked. This is the official invite to the Morey Boogie 6th Annual International Bodyboarding Championship to be held at Pipeline. Only the best of the best got invites. Its dated October 1987 and signed by Morey promotions manager Mary Lee Christensen.

This advertisement for Scott Bodyboards appeared in Surfer Magazine December 84. The blurb reads. “These Scott Hawaii Teamriders are wanted for serious water crimes”. The team included Kalen Tanaka, Jack Lindholm, Tom Boyle, JP Patterson and Mike Stewart. Back in the early 80′s, Scott was Morey Boogies main rival. By the later part of the 80′s Scott began to slow right down on the high end of the sport and stopped sponsoring comps and riders.

Check out Team Morey no longer called  Morey Boogie, chilling on the rocks at Off The Wall, Circa mid 90′s. Left to right Lanson Ronquilio,Tharin Rosa, Spencer Skipper, Alex Kinamaka, Jay Reale and Mke Stewart. Team supreme.

Number 3 video in The Underground Tapes series by Chris Stroh is based in Hawaii. The film profiles Eppo during his victorious World Title campaign in January 93. A young looking Tamega gets introduced and shows just how determined he is to make a name for himself with his riding. Tim Jones takes on Waimea Shorey like no one has ever done before and there is also plenty Aussie footage as well. Thats Eppo on the cover when he was still riding for Rheopaipo. Heres another unauthorised clip we found on Youtube of the intro.