HISTORY

In the 90′s one of the most publicised bodyboard photographers was Joseph Libby. The Hawaiian lensman was coming up with the shots of all the young Hawaiians including Aka, Fred Booth, Kainoa, A.J and the rest of the local crew of rippers. Libby was also behind the all Dropknee video Fumanchu which is still regarded as a classic even today.

One of the sports industry pioneers, Debbie began he involvent by working in ’76  to ’81 at Morey Boogie and then Scott Hawaii. She later went on to form her own company called Custom X. Debbie has the distinction of being one if not the only female shaper in bodyboarding. Article appeared in Bim Magazine early 90′s writen by Craig Handel.

Mike Fleming alias X-Man is one of the most respected bodyboard shapers in the industry. He honed his skills in the early days at Custom X and since moving on is still one of the most in demand custom board shapers on the planet. Photo, X-Man in Hawaii around ’99  photo Stroh

The Emerald Surf shop at Cronulla was the first Bodyboard specialist store in Australia. Around the mid 80′s Arnold and Kathy Cohen set up their shop in the lane way across from Cronulla station and stocked all the latest bodyboard products. They also ran The Cronulla Bodyboard Club which today stands as the longest running club in the world. The club was responsible for encouraging the local talent including Doug Robson, Brett Young, Matt Percy, Wingnut, Nugget, Mark Fordham, Dave Ballard, Andrew Lester and many more. Today the business has changed hands several times and locations but it continues to support the sport.  The Cronulla Street Shop photo by Stroh

Manta has been an iconic Australian bodyboard brand for 25 years. Starting out in Cronulla in November 1985 in humble surroundings. Manta soon started pushing innovative designs built for the waves in the local area which included the infamous Shark Island that had an abundance of talented locals that were more than happy to test drive the new boards. Manta has always pushed innovative designs right from the get go in the late 80’s until the present day and into the future. Manta has sponsored some of the sports best riders including Ross Hawke, Doug Robson, Dave Ballard, Tim Jones, Adam “Wingnut” Smith, Michael “Eppo” Epplestun, Paul Roach, Ryan Hardy, Mitch Rawlins, Andrew Lester and John Showell plus many others and still today sponsors and will continue to with riders such as Spencer Skipper, Tommy Smith, Brendon Backshall and Taylor Brockman.

 After leaving Morey Boogie, Ben Severson hooked up with Bobby Szabad and designed his Ben signature board for BZ,  it created quite a buzz. Sevo was using his experience as one of the worlds top bodyboarders and transforming it into a high performance wave riding craft. It soon caught on and quickly became one of the most sought after board models around the world. Photo ,a pair of Ben model BZ boards from ’88.

 Bobby Szabad was one of Tom Morey’s first backyard factory workers in the very early days as well as one of the first Morey Boogie team riders. After competing for a short time Bobby concentrated more and more on the manufacturing side of things. While head of production at the Morey’s Kransco plant, Bobby left to start his own company, named BZ. He eventually sold the brand name but still works for BZ today. Pic below was taken of Bobby in ’89 outside BZ headquarters.

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.

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.

         Adam “Wingnut” Smith had the honor of being one the first bodyboarders to be sponsored by Manta in the late 80’s. By the time he was 15 he was already regarded as the Super Grom of the sport. He was winning comps, traveling the world, charging Shark Island and he was living the life. When Terry Fleming from Manta and he got together in the early 90s in the shaping bay they came up with The Wingnut Grommet board. It was the first signature board to cater for younger kids. The following summer on its release the board hit the best sellers list in Australia.  Below, Wingy and Tezza work on the design. Photo Stroh