Gerry “Mr. Pipeline†Lopez spoke at a Patagonia store in Cardiff by the Sea last week. The guy who was at the bleeding edge of the short board revolution on Hawaii’s North Shore sounded off on a few things to a crowd of inarticulate guys with long hair.
On Snowboarding:
You can make the drops as big as you want them. The only problem is you get to look at them first, and think about them. In surfing you just go
On the Industry:
Building surfboards has always been a great job for me. I got to build all the boards I wanted, and every now and then I get to build boards for guys like Keith (Malloy).
There are alot of changes going on in the industry… …molded boards made overseas… …back then we called them pop outs. The only guys riding them were paid to. The other guys riding them we called kooks.
…If you buy those boards it’s going to kill our industry, you’ll have guys making boards that don’t surf and don’t know anything about surfing.
via 70 Percent
ByRocky Thompson
It should be noted the excerpts you’ve listed are paraphrased, and not direct quotes. (I really need to get a tape recorder…)
Thanks for the link, great blog.
The fact that there are “…guys making __(insert name of favorite action sport device)_ that don’t _____ and don’t know anything about ______ing.” hasn’t done much to hurt almost every other action sport - sure there’s a few glitches at first but the product ultimately turns out very good. Actually it has allowed acceptable product to be delivered at reasonable prices and allows many new participants to try their hands and feet at _____ing.
This (mass production, ready made, overseas production, whatever you want to call it) has proven very successful in snowboarding and skateboarding over the past decade and has done much to fuel their amazing growth.
Another result is the eventual re-emergence of “old time” construction techniques and technology - this is happening right now in the bicycle industry - with handmade product fetching top dollar and defining a new niche amongst active participants. When this happens the local board shaper will be less common place and more in demand when people are ready to graduate from their ready made stick to a “real” board.
I don’t know if Gerry is really that concerned about surfers being perceived as blonde and spacey but he should be concerned that surfers are often viewed as elitist and exclusionary. His industry is about to see massive change – what won’t change is many people’s strong desire to go surfing.
Repeater, good comment. Some counter points…
“(insert name of favorite action sport device)”
Great surfboards are magic carpets. They are imparted with a unique character by the knowledgable hands that pass over them during creation. When you pick up a board, you run your hands over it and they tell you everything your eyes can’t. A factory worker who doesn’t surf would never be able to feel the subtle differneces in rail or concave that differenciate a magic board from a pop out.
“Another result is the eventual re-emergence of “old time†construction techniques and technology”
I fully agree. Maybe the masters will be getting the kind of cash per board they should. Like Skip.
“but he should be concerned that surfers are often viewed as elitist and exclusionary”
I don’t know a single surfer who wants more people in the water. The only ones who do are in the business of selling surfing and see a growing ’sport’ as growning profit margins. This isn’t elitist or exclusionary, it’s simply protecting a valued and scarce resource.
rob70. I can appreciate that good surf breaks are a limited commodity!
Can’t we all. :/