Forgotten Surfer/Shapers

There have been oh so many underrated and overlooked surfers that have influenced our surf culture, they have just fallen by the wayside with the fast pace of this wave sliding sport.

One of these stylish men is Gary Propper, just recently Surfline.com brought him back to the "spotlight" with If These Boards Could Talk. This short 5 minute video brought Mr. Proppers excellent style back to the eyes of a younger generation, if only for several minutes. It talked about how he was flamboyant, awe inspiring, and impeccable and slashing those clean little waves of Malibu and Florida. His Hobie model sold more than Corky Carrolls did at the time, incredible because you dont hear anything about Gary Propper anymore.

Another influential surfer/shaper that has been forgotten by history is Steve Lis; he created and developed a board what we know today as the Fish. Steve Lis was a kneeboarder out of Point Loma, California that surfed Sunset Cliff's on a daily routine. My father had the privilege with surfing with this creative gentleman and purchasing a 5'7 Orange Fish for $25 in 1971. My dad rode it for several years before putting it away for 20 years. I happened to find it in our garage in 2006, and since then it has become one of the most used boards in my quiver. This Fish blows my mind, Mr. Lis shaped it off a kneeboard model; the fins almost at the tail, the tail in the shape of a deep V, foam displacement more towards the front of the board, and a Hull shape. In turn, Steve Lis created one of the fastest, smoothest, and stylish boards seen in any lineup up and down the coast.

While there are many more shapers and surfers that have been "forgotten", it seems as though more and more younger guys like myself that are trying to find out their inspirations for their ideas and hopefully replicate their boards. In some circumstances, we have to look to the past in order to move forward into the future...