I just got word that Roger Hinds is no longer making boards. ( Country Surfboards / Bear Surfboards ) I bought a coupla Nomad hybrid boards of him which i loved - and a retro fish in 2005.
Anyone know why he’s stopped?
OK, i gonna try this again. Maybe subj bar this time might catch someone’s attention:
I heard Roger Hinds of Country Surfboards in Seal Beach has ’ retired and stopped making surfboards’… anyone know what up?
I’m bummed 
I don’t know but I always thought Country Surfboards had a killer logo.
I thought he moved on to his own Southpoint deal similar to Al’s ANACAPA but I could be wrong.
I think I headr he was assisting with some other project…
The brand was split between Hawaii and the Westcoast.
I believe Roger own the westcoast license
Rumor was that the Hawaii brand license was up for grab for $25,000
It’s a regal brand with alot of history here on the northshore.
I used to sit in the shop every weekend as a grom after a dawn patrol session eating my Matsumoto’s with red bean and vanilla ice cream and admiring all the hypersonic guns.
sure was. and heavy with symbolism…
whoa…hot logo…i dig.
Roger moved in w/ Steve Albin over at “Aloha Glassing” next to “Foam-EZ(The old Chas shop)” in Westminster,Ca.
If You can’t find his #, I’ll try to get back here with you soon.
Sorry ,not personally doing that well lately.Herb
ps…When you talk to Roger ,tell him Herb Said hello.Thanks
well infact i did get through to roger, or rather his wife replied to my email. and the mssg was the briefest of brief. just like that - “sorry, rog’s retired from building surfboards. thanks”. so brief that it sounded like they didn’t want to be bothered. was wonderin: health? business with eps no good? etc?
Outside of my Liddle, my last three boards ( which is everything i bought from 95 to now) were from him. I was thinking about getting the Nomad model as a singlefin, and sent an email asking his opinion on it. Usually they’re thruster. I dig the fish he made me too. 3 boards sounds like piddley to a statesider, but i don’t care for the boards made here, adn i get all mine brought in from CA. so it’s plenty pricey.
“regal brand”, Oneula says… heck i’d have to agree. to walk away from that? (but the magic’s in RH’s hands)
Well that’s that. Thanks for offering to assist, Herb.
Best rgds.
A guy in Florida is making a few.
Try: Barriosurfboards.com.
One of the original County Surfboards founders, Ed Searfoss is still glassing boards in Kahuku on the North Shore. I’ve been buying boards from him from 70’s through 90’s. Ed got a devorce and moved to the mainland. He came back a few years ago and he is still glassing. He was thinking about buying back his retail surf shop in Laie. He always gave me great deals and the workmanship was pretty good. Sometimes he got the colors wrong. I would always get a County Surfboard t-shirt when he screwed up. CarveNalu said he did a few of his Epoxy boards.
He had some good shapers in his camp including J. Vicente, Jim Turnbull (God bless his soul), Brio and Mike Casey / Bushman did a few. I would still rate him as one of the top ten glassers in Hawaii. I love his pigment, tint and pin-line work. He still does a few under the Country Surfboard logo.
D
they started using this new wave logo in the 80’s and 90’s don’t know if they had rights issues.
The first custom board I bought upon returning to surfing after 15+ years was a “think pink” 10’ bonzer bottomed thruster tanker from Jim Turnbull after running into Ed at the swap meet selling similar boards. He even delivered it to my downtown office which caused quite a stir. The glass job was unreal and it’s still one of my all time favorite boards. I wish I had more Turnbull longboards in my collection… I still have a 7’2" “think pink” country surfboards sunset special minigun shaped by the lifeguard Hall and had a 7’2" hybrid swallow from Jorge Vincente that were way ahead of their time. The hybrid came years before Parmenter came out with his Stubb Vector.
Don’t know why the new logo surfaced but I always treasured the old one along with the Alii logo on any board I owned. To me they meant you had something special… Kind of like riding a real Brewer/Reeves, Differender, or Iggy northshore board…
Ed’s had his issues for sure
I’m surprised he’s still hanging in there.
I don’t think guys in the new factories could imagine how crazy it was in those days after listening to folks who worked there, like CMP and others…
The last three boards i bought from Roger Hinds had the old Country Surfboards label i posted a pic of above. I’m sure mine were made in CA, but they say Haleiwa on them (label). The first one purchase in 95 had a real cool looking tiki behind the leash plug. Then his Nomad models had a guy on a camel with a board slung across his back, which i thought was pretty cool. my last Nomad came without it - when i asked - the reply was like they discontinued it cuz of the gulf war. (?)
Well i hope he’s doin well in whatever he’s involved in - people gotta make livng best way the can. But i’m bummed I cant go to him for boards anymore. He ( roger hinds) comes across like a person of few words, but who comes through.
I have one of Roger’s Country Surfboards guns about a 9’8 tri fin hanging above my head right now. I picked it up for a real good price a few years back. It hung in my son’s bedroom for awhile when he thought he wanted to ride big waves. It has never been waxed.
Howzit all,
I picked up a 9-0 Country Surfboards Longboard with green tint lamination recently that needed repair. It is a beautiful board and rides great! What is the story on this shaper and where was this board made. See attached pic.
Pics?
Re. The logo change
A number of years ago when I first noticed the change in logo styles, Bob Wise at Wise Surfboards told me that the reason for the change from old logo style to the “hipper” one was because some of the young rippers complained that the old logo looked “too hippy-ish” and/or “old and out of date”.
Ergo the change: to appeal to a young class of surfers.
However, I cannot recall seeing the “new” logo recently. Perhaps they went back to the old one for good?
Old logo
New logo
Old logo on a Turkington Balsa at Rarick’s Surf Auction
Home
Story
Quote:
Country Surfboards began in 1967 when an enterprising group of surfers wished to combine their financial needs with their love of surfing.
The result is a company that has a 33 year history of service to Hawaii.
Located on the north shore of Oahu we still make time to surf just about every day.
We have never given into the temptation to become really big and then have to move to an anticeptic industrial location.
We are proud of our roots in surfing history; people like Dick Brewer, Barry Kanaiapuni and Tigar Espere all worked for us in the early days.
Very truly yours,
Edward W. Searfoss
Country Surfboards Owner
That’s Classic! hey is that old building still there - Yoshida 1923? I sure hope so. Oneula, Thanks beaucoups for those pics and info! everyone that’s pitched in with info, infact. eh, now i’m more glad i got the old logos on all my boards.
ONeula–>I had not seen the (new to me) round logo till you just posted it. The “new” logo I was thinking about was sort of an Aztec-esque minimalist approach to original logo, not something completely different as you showed.
By the way, I’ve got two Rodger Hinds Country boards in the garage: 8’6" gun and 7’6" general purpose thruster.
duncan - post a pics of the 7’6"