Time to put down your Instagram machine and go see some surf history firsthand, kids. Starting April 27th, the Surf Heritage and Culture Center (SHACC) will be presenting an exhibit aptly title, “Go Faster”, dedicated to the art of, as they say on their site, “high-velocity surfing.” More specifically, the exhibit will be focusing on three of the most influential designers of the shortboard revolution: George Greenough, Bob McTavish and Dick Brewer.
All three foam architects played significant parts in the evolution of the modern surfboard–something lighter, shorter and more maneuverable than anything surfers could have imagined before. Kneeboard wizard George Greenough experimented with board shapes like the Spoon that could fit tight in the pocket and allow for maximum time inside of crystal cylinders. Australian Bob McTavish brought to life the first vee-bottom board and moved the needle on high-performance surfing in his infamous Honolua Bay section in “The Hot Generation”. And Dick Brewer continued to refine the new standard of surfboards with his down-rail design and allowed surfers to see how far boards can be pushed in big, powerful North Shore surf. Here’s a little more about the three shapers, courtesy of Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing:
“The origins of the 1967-launched shortboard revolution are still debated. Brewer claims he began making shorter, more streamlined boards in the spring of 1967, and the radical new designs got him fired from Bing. Australian surfer/boardmaker Bob McTavish, influenced by California-born kneeboarder and designer George Greenough, had meanwhile developed the short, wide-tailed vee-bottom design, and the generally accepted view is that McTavish and Greenough are responsible for starting the shortboard revolution. It was Brewer, however, in the months and years to come, who did the most to bring the shortboard revolution into focus.”
George Greenough. Photo courtesy of John Witzig/SHACC
The exhibit will feature beautiful craft from the era and relics from some of the best surfers of the time, including Nat Young, Gerry Lopez and Reno Abellira. To find out more about the upcoming event, click here.
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