HISTORY

In the early 80′s Ben Severson rode for Morey Boogie Bodyboards and this freefall pic riding the new Mach 77 was on the back of the Morey Boogie catalogue. Ben was one of the first members of the Morey Team along with Mike Stewart, Jay Reale and Keith Sasaki.

Number 3 video in The Underground Tapes series by Chris Stroh is based in Hawaii. The film profiles Eppo during his victorious World Title campaign in January 93. A young looking Tamega gets introduced and shows just how determined he is to make a name for himself with his riding. Tim Jones takes on Waimea Shorey like no one has ever done before and there is also plenty Aussie footage as well. Thats Eppo on the cover when he was still riding for Rheopaipo. Heres another unauthorised clip we found on Youtube of the intro.

Morey Boogie 136 BE arrived on the scene in Hawaii sometime around 1977. It  had a narrow planshape and was super bendy, one of the first to be manufactured on a large scale.Prior to the arrival of the Morey 136  it was bodyboard mail order kits that you built yourself and glued together. The most popular colour was the green rainbow coloured deck.Below a red model put out in the rubbish cleanup.

Paul Barnard centre was Qld finest bodyboarding exponent for many years notching up several Aussie titles. Greg Jarret on the right was the Gold Coast hottest newcomer who carried a heavy ripping rep. The pair who ride for Morey Boogie at this time check out the new board model 8 -TX with Morey Boogie Australias head honcho George K. at Burleigh Point late 80′s. Barny’s is now the Qld rep for Morey.     pic Stroh

Early 90′s saw Fins Magazine hit the news stands. The mag was produced on the Sunshine Coast and gave the local Queensland kids a solid  push. Fins lasted a year or 2 before it disappeared. This cover was of Aka Lyman with his eye on the next sestion at Pipe around 93 by Stroh.

The first Underground Tapes videos by Chris Stroh came out in the early 90′s. The original concept behind the series  of 10 films was similar to guerilla warfare according to Strohy. “Nothing was planned , just hit and run and shoot everything that moved vertical. It was all about the action  rather than quality”. Strohy foccussed on the upencoming young Aussies as they struggled for recognition. Names like Macca, Hellman, Nugget, Eppo, Wingnut, Perce, Bal, Riley and the rest showed what they were made of and the series created a cult like following. Shot on Hi8, what it lacked in high definition it compensated with busting big, mutant barrels and a heavy helping of writing off. The vids were left of centre and ahead of there time. The good news is Strohy is working on releasing a box set of UT action digitally enhanced for release sometime in 2011. Stay tuned….Below the original cover with a silhoutette of Mike Stewart busting an invert at Guilotines. photo Stroh

Premier Clothing originated in the US and first came onto the bodyboard scene around the early1990s.With double page spreads advertising and a strong team which included Tamega, Hetrick, Nelz, Babby,Vargas, Chuck and Vicki Gleeson the brand looked set to make waves. The brand had good new fresh designs and looked like it was the real deal but within a year or two it disappeared.

When the West oz surf helmet company came up with a light and comfortable design many bodyboarders were never seen without them surfing. In the early 90′s Tim Jones, Ryan Hardy and Joey Jordanoff were part of the team and the helmet often became works of art with individual riders customising their helmets with graffiti etc. This cover shot of Tim Jones was taken at Makapuu.   pic Stroh

Throuhout the 80′s and early 90′s Mike Stewarts Turbo model was the highest selling board on the market.This shot was taken on the Sunshine Coast around 89. Mike was in Australia promoting and competing and his East Coast pro mo tour was crazy with hundreds of kids turning up to each meet and geet.    pic Stroh

It was November 89 when Riptide first hit the bodyboard magazine market. On the cover was a young Dave Ballard popping a air at Suckrock on his Turbo. The pic was taken by Chris Stroh. The mag featured an article on Suckrock, Stewarts view and a Evan Penglis profile. It was the start of big things for Australian riders who now had there own voice. Riptide has stood the test of time and still continues to pump out quality issues year after year.