Had to post this. Vintage late 60’s early 70’s photo. From a wetsuit advertisement. Can anyone name the surfers? How about guessing how they did the artwork. Resin? Acrylic? What was the name of the wetsuit company? ( I had one). The shortboard revolution in full swing.
I know this ad. My mag stash is in storage, so I cannot cheat and look it up. It’s a Body Glove ad, that’s for sure. While they were still operating under the Dive N Surf name. Their "new " line was called Body Glove. That’s the Dive N Surf logo on left chest of the suits.
L to R Mike Purpus, Robert August, Rich Chew (?), and the last one has me stumped.
All the color work on the boards would have been resin. No one was using acrylics back then.
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''No one was using acrylics back then.''
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By 1968, John Bredin, was airbrushing boards, with acrylics, at Surfboards Hawaii. Prior to that he was spraying colored resin.
I agree with SammyA on identifications with the last guy being Rick Irons from the "Jacobs Surf Team" according to the ad. That very ad was inspiration for the acid splash lamination on this bellyboard...
I like the fat cutlaps. We did boards with abstracts like this in the late 60’s. used tinted resin directly on the foam.We also used leather dye with a cheap Binks airbrush.
I wonder who built these boards? Does anyone know? My first wetsuit was a dive n surf shorty “farmer john” like the ones in the ad. Ordered through Surfer Mag for $39.00 if memory serves me right.
You have August and Chew from the Harbour gang, and Purpus and Irons rode for Jacobs. I think it’s safe to say the boards are Jacobs and Harbours, most likely. The wide tailed job on the floor has a Jacobs lam,
The ad text reads "Jacobs Surf Team." Not sure if it will be legible from scan. Did Robert August and Purpus ever ride for them?
Now that you mention that… August rode Jacobs for many years. He has one in The Endless Summer. That’s probably Hap’s shop in the photo.
Very Cool. When I asked the question about who built the boards I was referring to the fact that they all looked as if they came from the same factory. Was wondering if anybody could put a craftsman’s name on the work. Glossers and glassers tended to be in the backgound and nobody knew who they were. So who did theseJacobs??? The mystery continues.
All Jacobs boards, all Jacobs riders. Shot in Hap’s shop @ 422 PCH, Hermosa Beach.
Robert August's dad, Blackie, was a Hermosa Beach local long before the family moved to Orange County. I always assumed that Robert met Hap through Blackie and was adopted as a Team member and salesman. Rory Wicks
I missed this the first time around. I should show Donnie Mulhern the ad and ask him who did the splashes. He'll probably know.
This may be when Grant Reynolds was building the Jacobs boards at Bay Cities Glassing. I think he owned the retail store and may have even owned the name.
Grant’s wife had an antique store in what had been the Greg Noll shop on PCH.
My wife and I used to stay at their house when we were in L.A. and they used to come down to San Diego and stay with us.
I remember touring his glass shop one day around '72 or 3. He was glassing boards for a lot of brands besides Jacobs: Chuck Dent, Dewey, and more. He had some really funny stories as you can imagine considering some of the characters he glassed for.
Lost track of Grant for years and then ran into him at the G&S reunion a couple of years ago. Classic guy. Then and now.
I remember how cool it was that so many great surfboard builders were within a stones throw of each other in Hermosa Beach back then.