HISTORY

Ross “Hellman” Hawke along with Adam”Wingnut”Smith toured Tasmania in the early 90′s for Manta it was the first time Pro Riders had headed to the Apple Isle. Below Hellman carves in icy the waters at Rebounds photo Stroh

Pat Caldwell below practicing what he preached, inventor of the El Rollo mid rotation from the pages of Bodyboarding Magazine late 80′s.

Cronulla Bodyboarder Doug Robson was one of the pioneers of big airs. His punts at Suckrock in the late 80′s inspired Eppo to go even bigger in the coming years Photo Stroh

When Mike Stewart unleashed this move at Pipeline in the late 80′s the whole Bodyboard World sat up and took notice. It sealed his fate as the sports best rider at the time and helped create the legend.

 

Steve Mackenzie wins the prestige’s Aussie Title held at Manly Beach in 1ft woeful conditions in 1990. It was at this event the slick well run ABA contest machine first clashed with the Skid Kids of Cronulla and a war between the opposing factions erupted. ABA wanted the sport run like the “Boy Scouts” with parents running the show while the kids from Cronulla wanted events held in proper bodyboarding waves and not spin to win events.  In the long run the Skid Kids of Cronulla won, they pushed long and hard until the Shark Island Challenge comp was formed in ’97 and the sport finnaly saw the light about comps being run in quality wave arenas. Macca also won the first SIC event.Photos: Steve Mackenzie claims victory by Needham insets of The Skid Kids Youngy, Nugget and Wingnut  by Stroh from Riptide.

 

Hawaiian Dean Marzol was one of the sports pioneers throughout the 80′s making a name for himself at Pipeline and a regular competitor and finalist of The World Titles held at Bansaii.

It was Ben Holland from the Central Coast whose twisted flip move inspired Eppo to invent The ARS move which inturn changed the direction of Bodyboarding and introduced gymnastic style moves . Photo Stroh, Early 90′s

Eppo Prosurf Grip Early 90′s

To its legions of followers, bodyboarding is quite simply the most intense watersport on the planet. Wherever you find waves that are too heavy for even the most gung-ho of surfers, there you’ll find the boogers, screaming into dredging pits and scoring impossibly deep barrels. “Born to Boogie: Legends of Bodyboarding” tells the story of this incredible sport from 1971 to the present day. The pioneers, the champions and the underground chargers are all profiled, among them Tom Morey, Pat Caldwell, Ben Severson, Jay Reale, Mike Stewart, Michael ‘Eppo’ Eppelstun, Guilherme Tamega, Andre Botha, Ryan Hardy, Damian King, Ben Player, Jeff Hubbard, Mitch Rawlins and Pierre Louis Costes. Written by respected bodyboard journalist Owen Pye, Born to Boogie tells the tale of how the sport was created, how it developed, flourished, faltered and fought back to become one of the most exciting extreme sports in the world today. Filled with incredible stories spanning four decades and packed with iconic images, Born to Boogie is a book that every bodyboarder will want to check out.

Ben Severson experimenting with a reverse air at Off The Wall in Hawaii, it was the beginning of the explosive  aerial moves late 80′s.