HISTORY

Jarratt Lau from Hawaii is still a local standout and accomplished big wave bodyboarder who first turned up in the early 90′s sporting a semi afro and an even bigger grin. He rode for Science and had his own model. In 2007 when competing in the Pipe Masters he scored a perfect 10, the footage can be seen here on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxSBqArmr0c       The pic below was taken at Waimea Shorey showing Lau pulling in with his  typical “no guts,no glory” style. Photo Stroh mid 90′s.

When Kingy  was still a youngster and a cheeky one at that he was spending the majority of his time surfing at the breakwalls of Port MacQuarie. Damian used to Dropknee almost as much as he proned. The Kingston utilised the wedging mid north coast side washes to smash the lips and throw down the big money shot moves. Below typical Kingy hack taken in the late 90′s on the North Coast of NSW photo Stroh.

Standup bodyboarding today is almost non existent, apart from a few faithfuls the art is slowly dying. One of the best throughout the 90′s was Cavin Yap. Known for his standup aerials and all around shredding, Cavin was a regular at Off The Wall. Yap would blow everyone watching away with his power hacks and snaps. Inspired by Danny Kim and Chris Won , Cavin riding a special designed board just for standup and would out surf many of the Northshores hot standups even without a skeg. Pic below taken mid 90′s at OTW of Cavin by Chris Stroh.

Mike styling in his wetty shorts getting ready for his heat at Cronulla around ’89 at Elouera Beach. Photo Stroh

Rush Magazine was the first magazine to feature a bodyboard video as a giveaway on its cover in Australia. and the world for that matter. The vid came with issue 3 and appeared in the late 90′s and was a sell out.The free movie was called Peepshow and produced by Underground Tapes.Below cover and vid package.

Hailing from Queensland in Australia, Jarrat was a standout performer who turned up on the Cooly scene around the later part of the 80′s. Jarrat and Barny became partners and led the Queesland push by tearing up the waves at Kirra, Burleigh, D Bah and a certain reef. Jarrat was wild and explosive and showed early potential and word spread fast about his ability. On the Gold Coast he was a bit of a underground legend but turned his back on competition early and the whole bodyboard scene and put all his effort into just riding hard and deep. This pic was taken at The Reef by Peto mid 90′s.  

NF1 was a break through video that smashed tradition in 1997. By pulling together the best riders and forming a team and then using that talent to produce their own segments and ideas was a revolutionary idea that set them apart from all other videos of the time. Using  music by the biggest bands was another feature that started a trend. It was the complete package and it changed bodyboarding videos forever.

Thorto was one of the competitive Port Mac crew which during the early 90′s also included Eppo, Toddy, Vicki and Pete Gleeson, The Murray Bros, Mason Rose and a young Kingy. The best sessions occurred when the whole crew were out at North Wall. With swells wedging off the breakwall , the side waves were perfect for bodyboading and pulling out the big moves. It was in these wedges that Eppo developed his gymnastic moves. On his day Thorto was as good as anyone of the regulars. This shot is of Simon hitting a clean reverse air was photographed around mid 90′s by Chris Stroh.