HISTORY

Any thoughts that the pre-conceived image of Bodyboarding is a soft sport for little kids are soon smashed when you take one look at Paul Roach attacking a wave.

Early shots of Ben Severson’s smiling face peering out of barrel after perfect barrel gave bodyboarding a fun loving image that attracted scores of enthusiasts who wanted that very same experience.

Paul Roach was the king of Dropknee riding for his radical moves however when it came to charging DK no one came close to Kainoa McGee seen below in the belly of the beast at Pipeline.

While Pat Caldwell was well known for his Hawaiian exploits surfing Sandy’s and Pipe he also spent plenty of time on the mainland at the infamous back breaking Newport Wedge. Pats Hawaiian big wave experiences made him a standout at the Wedge like this vertical freefall photo by Peter Brouillet.

Virtoid gained a name for himself for someone who could go extra big  in the air.The kid from West Oz had a few  outstanding years around early 2000′s. He  starred in the Tension videos and even went nude on one of the covers earning a lot of fans before disappearing out of the public focus. This photo taken in Hawaii by Stroh around that time.

The memory of Paul Roach is as strong today as it was in the early 90′s when he busted onto the Dropknee scene and set the standard for future generations.

Andre Botha stunned the bodyboard world when he came from nowhere and snatched two world titles in the late 90′s. Today he remains one of the elder statesman of the sport earning new fans with his no holds barred charging. This photo huge reverse at Backdoor late 90′s photo Stroh

The Bodyboarding Magazine readers poll was a big deal back in the 80′s  and early 90s when all the stars competed for the prestiges top honors voted by fans. Below:Stewart Jay Reale,Cameron Steele, Glenda, Danny Kim ,Shawnee, Pat, Sevo Kainoa, Chris Anne and Haouli.

90′s Hawaiian style star and part of the No Friends crew Skip punches an invert at Off The Wall mid 90′s sequence by Stroh

 

Keith Sasaki, Pat Caldwell, JP Patterson and friends share the goodtimes.