You got me on this one. I left my Instamatic at home that day.
Santa Cruz local?
How did he do that with only one leg?
All I could find was this one from 1967.
looks like his board is still in the water…
Not really an air unless there is air between the wave and the board.
Off the top
.
Air.
I remember when this local photog sent me this picture of myself about 10 years ago…I thought, and it FELT, like I had done a small “air”, but it wasn’t even close…Maybe got the fin(single fin) out, that’s it. But that pic is still pretty “cutting edge” for 1968 for sure.
His leg is not bent and redirecting , he is leaving the wave as you can see with lots of speed .
The photog missed the shot 
Ok. You were there, I was not. If you say it was an “air”, I’ll have to take your word for it.
The tail is leaving and not being directed down .
This surfer would have been very famous but stopped surfing in late 1971 after getting married .
He surfed soo much better than some that are constantly claimed amazing a few years later .
Still waiting for that pic that matches this in 1968 .
Good luck with that. You have so much to offer the shaping(Swaylocks) community…I wish you would be more straightforward with your posts, and pass on your knowledge to budding shapers…It would really go a loooooong way. It’s pretty obvious that nobody is going to have any pics of somebody trying an air in 1968. I was still a few years from being born in 1968, but I seriously doubt that anyone was pulling “airs” on the boards that were being ridden then. I’d love for you to prove me wrong and post some sort of sequence…Much respect.
What? Why in the world is this thread going this way? What’s with the “down voting”?
Cool photo, amazing actually. Not an air? Who farking cares that much?
Genuinely baffled.
(Addition to my original post: someone edited my curse word. Does that word truly offend anyone reading this?)
No “Down Voting” from me. I love Greg’s posts…
Where do you think he is going with that speed ?
I have always been straightforward and as basic as I can .
I do have a large group of internet haters following me , what I make has no secret sause and is very simple and straightforward .
Very low on entertainment , high on reason . :-)
“Where do you think he is going with that speed ?”
Well, by looking at that single picture, and with 30+ years of experience(20+ on longboards), it looks to ME, like he is kicking out of the wave, or at best, trying to come off the lip. Do you have a pic of him actually “getting air”? I think Pottz was the first to actually get “air” and pull it off(with proof), and yes, I know you shaped some of his boards…So what’s the point of this thread? Did you shpae the board? Is it one of your friends? ???
Captain Obvious here, but kicking out is not an aerial. Getting launched by backwash is not an aerial. An attempt without a landing is not an aerial.
Greg likes to play with people.
Looks like McTavish in the pic. So, who is it?
As to the claim of who did the first legit air? Kevin Reed of SC may have preceded Potter in that realm, also Matt K from Fla.
But, this question is much like the debate over who invented the shortboard, or even the V bottom.
First person I knew to regularily do aerial moves was Davey Smith from Santa Barbara. Shapes for Channel Islands these days. Joe Mickey would have photos.
I agree this could become impossible to determine for sure. First published photo of an aerial would be a safer quest.
BB
Wait, it just dawned on me that the first pic is Roger Adams. Correct?