HISTORY

The DK Story filmed by Chris Stroh   part of The Retrospect Bodyboad DVD 3  Part Series

 

Wayne was one of the most coinsistent Aussie performers at National level in the mid 80′s. Hailing from the North Coast of NSW he grew up with a bunch of high performance waves in his area. Photo Stroh Curl Curl 1990.

When Eppo unleashed a bunch of new moves in the early 90′s others also began experimenting. Nathan “Nugget”Purcell came up with The Gorf which is frog spelt backward. It was a kind of forward roll move that Nugget mastered and pulled out at Suckrock and Shark Island where this shot of Nugget performing it was taken around ’94 and appeared in Bodyboarder Mag.

Virtoid had the potential to be a World Champ but the kid from West Oz  prefered the mellow waves of South West W.A. Around the breaks of Margret River, Virtue was at his best busting huge airs and pulling in at The Box and North Point. After a year or two of chasing the title dream he retired back to West Oz and these days is known for chasing some of the heaviest waves the ocean can throw up on sharky mutant reefs miles out to sea.Virtoid Backdoor Photo Stroh

Ballistic was No4 in The Underground Tapes video series from the 90′s and was significant for the fact alone it featured the first Ars and Backflip moves by Eppo. The advertisement below featured Ben Holland in the main pic performing his flip move that was Eppo’s main  inspiration for the Air Roll Spin. It was a time when things were changing in the sport and it was progressing in leaps and bounds. Photos Stroh ’93.

 

Brett Young had a pretty outrageous character, he wasn’t into spinning to the beach or the latest move craze but when the waves were pumping he could be counted on to step up the plate and pull in with the best of them. Taken too young in a car accident. Rip. Photo Strohy early 90′s.

 

 

Tristan was one of the Cronulla crew who frothed over Shark Island. Tristan loves the spot that much he now lives in prime position overlooking his favourite wave. Photo Stroh early 90′s.

 

John Gibson from the Gold Coast was a talented goofyfoot whose style was reminiscent to Paul Roach. Gibbo was a bit of an underground player and kept a low profile preferring to travel to Indo and other less travelled locations. This pic by Peto late 90′s at D Bah.

Off The Wall in Hawaii once known as Kodak Reef has been a high performance  move orientated wave. On a sunny day the beach is lined with cameras capturing every slice of action. Its been the home of plenty of exceptional dropknee performances. This shot by Joe Libby of Hawaiian underground ripper Keone Gunderson is typical of the types of moves seen almost every winter in the late 90′s.

From Coffs Harbour WarrickAppleton was a strong competitor in Australia’s early contest scene throughout the 80′s winning an Open Aussie title using unpopular skegs on his board. Article and pic by Evan Penglis.