HISTORY

Tom began  bodyboarding with the original Sandy Beach crew and soon found himself competing against the likes of Sevo, Pat Caldwell, JP Patterson and Mike Stewart. Tom at the time was one of the sports first pro riders making it to the finals at Pipe several times. When his parents bought him a camera Toms direction changed. He began shooting shots of his friends some of the first images of the sport. In 1979 it was Tom who took the first ever publised shot of Jack “The Ripper ” Lindholm in a profile in Surfing Magazine. Tom’s next mission was to become the driving force  behind the first issues of Bodyboarding Magazine. Then came the series of videos called Bodyboarding Video Magazine. Toms dedication and drive was the spark that got bodyboarding to a worldwide audience in the early years. This pic was snapped at Foster during an Aussie surf trip around 92.   photo Stroh

Lanson Ronquilio came to everyones attention when in 1990 he attempted an reverse air at Off The Wall that ended up a weird twisted flip that was captured on film and appeared in Killer Days video by Tom Boyle. This one move was the inspiration for riders like Eppo who went on to invent the ARS and Backflip. Lanson was a standout performer on the Northshore where his smooth moves at Pipe and Backdoor had tonues wagging. He was an original member of the No Friends team. Sometime around the start of 2000 Lanson almost drowned one late session at Pipe when a duckdive went wrong and the lip slammed him into the reef head first. Unconcious and not breathing, Nugget noticed his board tombstoning and pulled him up. He recovered fully. Today, Ronk still bodyboards and works on Oahu.This photo is of Ronk and his bodyboard model girlfriend Erin early 90′s in Australia  pic Stroh

Matt Riley was the pinup boy of Aus bodyboarding back in the late 80s and early 90s. Matt came from Monavale and rose to everyones attention when he was the first Aussie to ever beat Mike Stewart in a heat at Manly. Matt could rip both prone and dropknee and was a strong competitor who’s technique was super stylish. He was sponsored by Quicksilver, Morey Boogie and was the editor of Aus Bodyboarder Magazine. Today he runs his own lanscaping buisness and still has a following of devoted fans.  Stylish slash at Monavale rip bowl pic Stroh early 90′s

Maligs grew up surfing the reef and beaches of Kauai an outer Island of Hawaii. It was here he joined forces with Bob Sato and other riders like Harry Antipalla and Chris Burkart to form the Kauai Classic Team. What set Kyle apart was his individuality both on land and in the water.Kyle was a freak. Prone , Standup or Dropknee he ripped. He coloured his hair, wore outlandish clothes, sang in a band and preached the bible. He was not your typical pro bodyboarder. But as natural talent goes Maligs had heaps and when he’s out at Off The Wall the photographers are guarenteed to get the shot. This carve pic of Kyle was taken in Reunion Island Circa mid 90′s   photo Stroh

Sevo the 1986 World Champ was Mike Stewarts main competitive rival throughout the 80′s. Contest after the contest the pair would meet up in the finals with Ben ending up second more times than he would like to remember. Sevo also was known for his deep tube riding skills earning the knickname Troll. Ben is also credited with designing the round rail and one of the first to combine his manouevres. With BZ ,his model was at the forefront of design in the 80′s. Today Sevo is a lifeguard in Hawaii and still runs his BSD Bodyboard Company producing hardcore equipment and bodyboardso. Photo belof Ben chilling was taken late 80′s on the South Coast pic Stroh

Pat was responsible for inventing the el rollo move, one of the standard performance tricks of todays bodyboarder, back in ”78 it was futuristic. Pat was also one of the original Sandy Beach bodyboard crew along with Ben Severson, JP Patterson, Tom Boyle, Mike Stewart and Keith Sasaki, they were the first recognised professional riders in the sport. He appeared on the first cover of Bodyboarding Magazine. In the early to mid 90′s Pat found a new passion when he began charging Waimea Shorey on those truly classic days. This shot features a big gnarly pit and the photo also appeared on the cover of Underground Tapes video Fuel. pic Stroh

Jack Lindholm was the sports first superstar. Around the late 70′s he was the first to start bodyboarding Pipe in Hawaii and introduced us to his unique Dropknee style known back then as the Jack Stance. He single handly brought the fledgling sport much needed recognition and as photos began appearing in surf mags, he soon had fans all around the  world.This shot shows Jack taking a extra late drop at Pipe. Pic Stroh