Kokua - good to Ridz is doing well – tell him hello from S.A.
Howzit S.A., John’s doing his summer time in S.Diego and we won’t see him til Sept or Oct. when the waves return to Hanalei. Aloha, Kokua
As far as the boards being done out of Kauai, Dick personally runs that show. I do know that he hand shapes all the balsa boards, which are then glassed by Jack Reeves. The one “True Brew” foam board I have is one that I sat and watched him shape myself. At Plumeria I try to dissuade folks from ordering Brewer hand shapes because they take so long to get, and no matter what I say folks get impatient after awhile. Hence my previous comment that it’s best to go to Dick directly for hand shapes. In any case Dick does sweat the details of the boards that go out with his name on them, and that’s what counts.
dubstar,
I’d be interested in hearing when Malcolm Campbell is coming to NYC. What can you tell me about that? I have 2 blanks sitting around and one has been screaming ‘Bonzer’ at me. To get some first hand knowledge would be great.
I’ll be away 8/23-9/7 - but if he’s here before or after I’d be interested to hear.
Eric J
Howzit Mmanzi, Yeah nobody shapes the balsas like Dick and Jack is one of the all time great glassers. I understand it can take as long as 3 months to get a shape from him here, but some people don’t mind and just order a few months early. Aloha, Kokua
I came real close to getting a gig with Brewer back in the early 70’s.I don’t know if it was because he liked my work or the fact that my initials are "R.B."He was pretty bad tempered back then but for some reason he always gave me smile and a heads up.Glad to hear he is doing well.
I guess if I was still living down there I would see him and the rest of the “vibe tribe” on a regular basis at the azure vistas - S.A.
john , thats exactly what i planned to do…
its a dollar a minute to get converted to vhs…
so was gonna do it as you decribed…coz theres about 40 hours worth…the same camera was in use for almost 20 years…ive been putting it off for the last few weeks but im gonna start soon…
regards
BERT
Well I’ll have to say that, some of the shapers that have been brought on board for the Plumeria in California are so inexperienced (dude,I like shape a really good performance board) that I have been brought in to completely re-do their shapes. Some of the masters are incomplete and need to have rails hand shaped on them, not the job for Johnnycomelately
Speaking of the “Big Boys”…Here’s a couple shots from this morning…
Mike Hynson…
Nat Young…
Donald Takayama…(And Kassia Meador)
Micky Munoz and Leroy Grannis…
Daivd Nuuiwa…
The UCSD Cancer Center Memorial Board…
I love it. All these old legends and this kid wearing the “youth against Establishment,” Banner.
Are you talking about my hat? If so, WHO CARES? Honestly, I didn’t know what that symbol meant except that it was Volcom’s “logo”. Don’t read so much into things…And “kid”?? Hahahaha…I’ll take that as a compliment.
Testy Testy. Nothing was directed at you personally at all. I just thought it was funny. Volcom right next to the old crew.
I said kid because I have not seen many adults that wear volcom and you do look young. I used to sell Volcom before it got popular so I am slightly more familiar with what it stands for, which is why I thought it was funny.
It’s the epitome of what the kids call New School. Even though they all wear that very hat. Those pics are classic.
I thought the hat was some kind of a … yah know, dope leaf. Thought maybe he was one of those degenerate dope smokin S.D. surfers.Smoogin with the legends. Makes me sick.
I’m kidding. Would have loved to get my picture with Nat Young. Are you kidding? Hynson, too. The only person I ever asked for an autograph was Sean Thomson. Standing in line with a bunch of kids who knew he was somebody and wondering why there Dads asked them to get an autograph. Mike
That’s pretty cool you were able to get shots with those guys, I hope you got some time to talk story to go with your memories. Did you get to paddle out with any of them?
I talked to them all and interviewed David Nuuiwa and Takayama for a review of the contest in Longboarder…I didn’t surf out there today for three reasons:
1.) I was “working”
2.) The surf was 2’ at best and PACKED.
3.) I was too busy trying to get into the food tent before the masses…
Longboard’s contest reviews and stories of particular swells are reading like grocery store tabloids these days. It’s one of those magazines you could go through in and hour and if you’re lucky you might read a Paul Holmes interview. The last issue had a story on the April swell at Malibu, kind of laughable.
Good for you that you took those photo’s though. They will make great memories.
Can’t blame me, this will be my first review for Longboard…
I was down in San Diego for this event yesterday and it was not about the contest. In fact, for the finals, most everybody was under the big top, out of the sun, sippin cool drinks and eating the great food. All the while Nat Young, Skip Frye, Micky Munouz, Donald T. and a couple of other “Legends” were surfing the 2-3 foot wind blown waves with uncommon elegance and style.
I spoke with Ben Marcus who wrote the article on Malibu in the Longboard Mag. I was trying to figure out what he meant when he said that the only thing lacking that day(Tuesday) at Malibu was the Santa Ana winds. The Santa Ana winds look real pretty at Malibu, but the angle they blow is almost as bad as a south wind, making the ride slow and unsatisfying. He said he meant offshore. It is also hard to believe that they couldnt get some better pics to show. There were some big waves that were breaking near the end of the pier and more than a few of us had to frantically paddle through the pier to avoid being pummeled into the pilings. Anyway, despite all that was said in the rather inane article, big don’t mean good at Malibu.
The only “Legend” I spoke with was Skip Frye, who after his final go out was, as he gathered his gear to go up to his car, picking up the trash left behind by others. He is not making many boards these days as he is surfing more that ever according to his wife. The boards he makes are for an apparently long list of friends and former customers.
Roger
Jim:
There are only two other finish shapers for Plumeria, and Dick personally trained both of them. As for the masters they are as complete as any other machined blank when they come off the machine. If you actually mean “finish shape machined blanks” when you say “brought in to completely re-do shapes”, then you are correct. But to imply that the shapes are in need of a second finish shaper’s attention is simply not correct.