Gary Linden has a big heart, but his “cajones” are even bigger; you see at 62 he still chases and paddles into surf the most treacherous surf that exists on this planet. That in itself is worthy; furthermore, he still sculpts amazingly remarkable boards, from not only foam, and balsa, but from agave stocks which he locates, harvests, dries, cuts and glues himself. And if that isn’t enough Gary had a huge dream, a “Big Wave World Tour” which is now a reality, a tour that chases the biggest and baddest ass waves to kiss the planet, which last night crowned Peter Mel, World Champion in a celebration that included the entire Mel clan, as well as, last years World Champion, Jamie Sterling. In attendance for this event, Dick Brewer, was brought to tears, in a touching acknowledgement of his impact on big wave surfing.
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, and his wife Rhonda were onboard too, for Newport Beach now exists in his district. The ship itself was fitting for Big Wave’s Royalty, that included Tom Carroll, Jamie Mitchell, Greg and Rusty Long, Ken Collins, and few other most worthy souls.
I would just like to say “Right On Gary” for taking a dream to a reality. Gary was classy enough to have a minute of silence and reflection for Sean Collins, who made the calls on where and when. Right On Gary; may this dream event tour elevate in status beyond your wildest dreams…
I love the photos I've seen of his agave boards and fins , too !
he's obviously a very fit , strong guy , as well as a great boardbuilder
I have read about him , seen photos , interviews and he seems a great role model , from what I can make out , good on you Gary Linden ! he is on facebook too , by the way
He was in the commentary box last year for the wct brazil event, good commentary, lots of talk about boards, sounds like a cool guy. Hopefully he’s going to Brazil again? Most surf commentary is rubbish.
Looks like RB is using a Makita sander in the shaping room. What will the Aussie’s say? I still like the Milwaukee’s better, but that slow start, and lightweight seems to do a good enough job for Gary and Dick. If those walls could talk, I know they could tell some hilarious stories. Some of the bitchenest boards I’ve ever seen came to life in this room, Brewer’s, Linden’s, and even some Pat Curren’s. David Barr honed his skills here too under Gary’s watchful and keen eyes. Linden Surfboards has been in this building for three decades now, which is a testimony to Gary’s total commitment to his craft: Right On!
Gary is one of the few true board bulders left in this industry. He has been a huge influence on my board building for nearly 30 years. I got my first surfboard job in this building. I worked in this building for 16+ years. It’s great to see RB in my old shaping room still pumping out “The” finest boards in the world. Just as I saw there as a skinny kid. From both these men I learned so much I can’t even begin to explain. I pretty much can credit most of what I know about building boards came from inside the walls of this factory. If you want to see a true craftman doing what he loves, do yourself a favor and stop by and see Gary at work. Thanks Gary! Your friend, Barry snyder
Gary’s the real deal. He still surfs almost every day. His daily driver is usually a 5’7"… unless he’s chasing monsters on a 10’ gun. Pat Curren calls him the best big wave rider of all time. He rips small waves like a teen too.
I’m lusting over the single fin in the front. Also note the board in the bag on the floor. That’s a Brewer made copy of the first big wave gun he made for Buzzy Trent - the gun of all guns. The board was on display at the BWWT award ceremony (Pete Mel won) where RB was the guest of honor.
I’m also lusting over the resin-tinted bals gun in this photo:
Walker is over. The blank business got so competitive after Clark shut down that it was nearly impossible to compete. Gary was driving out to about the worst part of LA every day to breathe toxic fumes… not just from the foam, but more so from surrounding industries. He decided he’d rather be making boards and surf down the street from his shop every day. Walker decided to throw in the towel. Just another example of how hard it is to survive in the surf industry.
He still shapes parabolics now and then. It’s a tremendous amount of work compared to just buying and using pre-stingered blanks. Gary’s main focus is on agave, balsa, big wave guns, team boards, and customs. As GR mentions in the beginning of this thread, Gary harvests and creates the agave blanks himself. As the world’s leading maker of agave boards, he’s also become quite an expert on fine tequilas - another happy byproduct of agave
Kendall wrote: “Gary’s the real deal. He still surfs almost every day. His daily driver is usually a 5’7”… unless he’s chasing monsters on a 10’ gun. Pat Curren calls him the best big wave rider of all time."
I love Gary, and agree with everything except for Gary being the best big wave rider of all time. Pat’s my favorite because of his original approach that set the bar. Still Reno Abellira told me a while ago, Gary is the best big wave rider over 60, and that’s better than most guys ever in their prime; Reno’s at the top of the awesome scale himself when it comes to big waves.
I was talking to Sunny Garcia yesterday about the “Big Wave World Tour” and he wants in; he’s one of the most amazing surfers of all time in big waves, and still has a full tank. It would be great to see a committed Sunny next year, because for sure he’ll push the bar even higher. Another surfer I’d like to see on the “BWWT” is Shane Dorian.