Just sharing this info here as he interacted with many people here on Swaylocks.
This is the info posted to Instagram by his family:
"It is with heavy hearts to share the news that the “Fellowship of Fun” creator, Gregory Griffin, unexpectedly passed away from a vehicular-motorcycle collision on July 18th, 2022.
Gregory was a loving husband, father and grandfather. There is no doubt he is now shredding waves, barreling down epic mountain bike trails and making things more interesting for everyone on the other side. He will certainly be missed and loved. He definitely was one of a kind.
A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
I gave him a lot of $#!t about various things, but I really liked the guy. His thoughts on board design and especially fins influenced a lot of people here on Sways. The world needs every father and grandfather it can get. In the twinkling of an eye. Lowel
He was a character. And a good guy. If you got on the phone with him, you needed to be ready for a long conversation. The boards he produced were top notch. I still have a few. Wish I’d gotten a new LB from him.
The news hit me hard. I just rode a 8’ 5-fin big fish he made last year in the big south swell we had. I was so stoked with it that I was going to post something on his FB page and boom I see the message his wife left about him passing.
I met Greg through my brother who somehow became friends with Greg when he was at a very low point in his life. His wife was dying from brain cancer and T&C was letting go of all their shapers. He was very upset because he needed that job. He let Bernie and I try several boards he had and we really liked the 5-fin fish. Immediately ordered one for each of us, and proceeded to tell everyone we saw about how great they were. We let others try them and some people liked them as much as we do. His long boards already had a following so the guys riding them were always going to be there as long as they knew where he was.
Bernie and I were in the first five guys to get new boards from him and helped him print out rice paper logos with his Griffin logo. Our first boards didn’t have any words, just the Griffin, he later added Sunset Point Surfboards and eventually Greg Griffin Surfboards. The first boards we got were his 5-fin fish and I still cherish my boards. Bernie eventually got several Modfish, then the Rocket, a longboard, and his Hovercraft model. Last year I ran into him at my regular spot and he had this new design he was playing around with he called the big fish. He offered it to us, probably to keep from paying to ship it back to Florida. We had a wonder long brunch talking for hours and I went home with Bernie’s big fish.
His original 5-fin fish design is my favorite, but for the bigger days that 8’ big fish is just right. As a senior citizen, it’s harder to get waves when it’s crowded and even though I love riding the shorter boards, it’s so much better to catch them further out and not have the struggle with the crowds. His G10 fins are also a step up, but he would only make fins specifically for each board, so he didn’t like making “generic” fins. He was quirky, but he was a genius when it came to matching the fins to the board. He was also so knowlegebale about board design and fin placement. I’d say something about a board I made and he would make a comment that was spot on about how it would work.
I had hoped to see more of him, he said he planned to be here several times a year and had lined up a shaping room to make boards. Now the boards we have will have to be taken care of because they can’t be replaced.
He seemed to be a very good place and was enjoying life with his family, riding his mountain bike and crazy fast motorcycle. It’s very sad that he’s gone.
I saw this on Instagram, and was saddened by the news. I wasn’t familiar with the “fellowship of fun”, so I didn’t at first get that it was THE Greg Griffen who had passed. Having lost my whole family in the past few years, I have come to a deeper appreciation of how fragile life really is.
As a moderator here, I had some discussions with Greg over the years. He always struck me as very passionate about his craft, which his reputation as a shaper bears out.
His passing is a loss for our community as surfboard designers and builders. My sincere condolences to his family and close friends.
Wow. I just saw this news. What a loss. I remember those early days when he first showed up on Sways. The five-fin design almost melted my brain. I got pretty obsessed trying to wrap my head around it. Even tried to emulate his style when shaping my first real fish years ago.
Sharkcountry, I was sanding at Laminations Hawaii when those logos started showing up on his boards. I sanded a lot of those T&C five fin nose channel longboard shapes. I never did get to meet him. His designs were unique and crisp. My condolences.
This is very, very sad news. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.
Greg patiently and generously answered every question I ever sent to him via PM’s on this forum.
His willingness to share his vast knowledge and experience with a “backyarder” he had never even met, and who was shaping only for his own personal gratification, was greatly appreciated, and marked the measure of the man.
