HISTORY

The young kid from Durban in South Africa who had a mouth full of metal and a head of white hair took the bodyboarding world by surprise when he rocked up on the Northshore in the late 90′s and took it apart. In the space of a few years Botha had 2 back to back world titles and was the youngest rider to ever achieve such a feat. Dre has since turned into one of the sports true enigmatic characters who chargers hard and lives to get barrelled.

Mitch grew up at Wollongong on Sydneys South Coast, when the family relocated to the Gold Coast in Queensland the young Rawlins began building a solid reputation as the new kid on the block. As a grom he was winning everything and dominated the junior ranks. He was soon sponsored by Billabong and Manta and was being claimed by many at the time as the future Kelly Slater of bodyboarding. While the world title has eluded him so far Rawlins continues to carry the reputation as one of the sports most innovative and respected riders.This pic of young Mitch carving was taken  at Kirra back in the late 90′s.

Ryan grew up surfing around the wave drenched Margaret River area in West Oz . Following in the steps of his older brother Gene “Charger” Hardy he was soon dominating the break known as The Box which at the time became the best known bodyboard wave on the West Coast. Rhino was leading the pack of  talented West Oz kids and he soon took his act and unleashed it on the rest of the world. In a few short years he had become one of the most respected and revered riders in the world today.

In the 80′s Mike Stewart snagged Gotcha Clothing as a sponsor it was quite a  finacial scoop. This was back in the day when the large surf brands showed a passing interest in bodyboarding.

Check out this old pic of a wooden bellyboard Circa 50′s. Check the kids mask out. Ready for action.

Scotty was one of the first Californian dropknee standouts in the late 80′s.  Carter went on to produce several videos including Enough Said, The Inside, Fumanchu and Crave The Cave. His films are regarded some of the best of  the 90′s era.This pic taken in 87 showing Scotty in full flight.

One of California’s hottest prone riders of the mid to late 90′s. This pic captured Tim pulling in at one of his fav spots The Wedge at Newport Beach where he shined above the pack with his go for it no bars charging . Advertisement for Vipers and Tools bodyboards.

Jack Lindholm seen blitzing Pipeline in Hawaii in the 8o’s was an awesome spectacle. His Jackstance riding was revolutionary at the time and when his image began to circulate around the world he became bodyboardings first superstar. Cool and casual Jack was riding substandard equipment compared to today’s standards but still managed to get the job done.

Hawaiian Keoni Gunderson was a natural talent whether skateboarding the bowl near the army base or punching the lip dropknee at Off The Wall. Around the late 90′s he was riding for Custom X along with sparring partner Fred Booth and making the photographers on the Northshore happy with his exciting on edge DK moves.

Standup legend Danny Kim scored the cover of Bodyboarding Magazine in Dec 89. It was at a time when standup bodyboarding was still popular and used in competition in small waves.