G&S Surfboards

Within surfing's winding and poly-chromatic DNA lay a few integral and unbroken strands which would render fundamentally incomplete the surfing organism were they ever bred out of the specimen ...

Larry Gordon and Floyd Smith came together during the sharp 1950's upswing of surfboard design anddevelopment. Polyurethane foam surfboards were being experimented with at the time and it just so happened that Larry's father owned a plastics company which could supply
the pair with what they needed to blow their own blanks. Soon, San Diego's A-list of surfers and shapers would all leave their marks on the shaping bays andwalls of Gordon & Smith's factory and shops.
A truncated list could read with names like Van Artsdalen, Hynson, Dobson, Frye, Kanaiaupuni, Morey, Seebold, Eaton, Warner, Priesendorfer
and can carry on today as the varsity class passes on their craft to the new apprentice-come-masters like Chris Darby, G&S' head shaper.

Fate ensured that Floyd made the journey to Australia in 1965, and saw instantly what was about to explode with the shortboard revolution. He wasted no time calling home to Larry, relaying the design changes that were happening there and cuing G&S to be one of the earliest and longest
running innovators in surfboard design change andadvancement. You can see the unmistakable genetic traits of G&S designs in every modern board brand & model on the racks. 66 Special. Quarterspeed. Redfin. Hot Curl. Modern Machine. Magic Model. Wave Skate. Summer Fish... Breadcrumbs marking the path...

The protein chains hold absolutely true today, as Larry's daughter, Debbie and son Eric operate G&S with the same zeal and respect for tradition that the brand deserves, while also fostering the next crop of master craftsmen/women under the eyes of the greats. (BTW, all G&S boards are 100% hand-shaped, no CNC)

 

Respect to the fullest. Follow the crumbs- they'll take you back home.

G&S Surfboards
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