The Evolution of Soft Top Surfboards
Today a soft-top surfboard isn’t just the large, chunky foam board used for beginners at surf schools. These modern, high-tech foam masterpieces are changing the stigma of, what was once deemed a Kook mobile, to a high-performance fun tool. Here is the history of how soft top surfboards came to be and how surfers like Jamie O’Brien revolutionized what was thought possible.
The Beginning
To start, we have to go way back... as in the 1950s with our friend Hobie Alter. During this time, or until 1958 to be more exact, surfboards were carved by hand from Balsa Wood. Though stunning, they were large, heavy, time and effort exhaustive to craft, and had performance limitations. Hobie, most famous for his Hobie Cateraman, was an inventor and surfboard shaper. One day a salesman approached him in his Laguna Shop with a new technology called PU foam. It was different than traditional Styrofoam as it could be cut, shaped, and bond with fiberglass resin without melting.
Hobie and his team took this new material and focused solely on making foam surfboards. This shift is responsible for, not only bringing us the soft tops but all modern surfboards. It also brought the next step in our journey, the invention of the boogie board.
The Progression
Tom Morey, also known as “Y”, is the father of the soft-top revolution. In 1971 the concept of a soft-top bodyboard, to be named boogie board, was conceived in Morey’s backyard. By accident he cut a piece of 9 ft surfboard foam in two, and not knowing what to do, he came up with the idea of a new, smaller, softer surf device.
Boogie boards opened up a world of possibilities for new and old surfers. They were safer than large wood boards, cheaper, and could be ridden in beach breaks where surfboards were prohibited by lifeguards. This new wave riding tool soared in popularity, and though over the next 30 years, some attempts toward a soft-top stand-up board were made, none prevailed.
This all changed in 2004 when a man name Matt Zilinskas approached John Yey, the owner of AGIT global with the idea of a mass produced soft top surfboard. This lovely brain child became the iconic Wavestorm, an 8 ft hunk of foam one can buy at Costco for $99.
Its success as the ideal beginner board launched a movement in the industry toward soft-top innovation, and in 2008 good ol’ Morey partnered with Catch Surf to bring a new performance-focused soft-top.
Today
Today there are over 50 independent soft-top surfboard brands. The market has become a competitive arena for companies to produce new board shapes, board types, and technology.
Catch Surf revolutionized the abilities of soft-top boards with fun shapes and by putting together a team of professional surfers to show off their creations. (Check out their Jamie O’Brien Collection). No longer Kook beacons, soft tops are seen as ways for surfers to have fun in the waves, and Jamie has pushed the boundaries of what any surfer thought possible. Some of his greatest feats include surfing Pipe, Back Door, and even taking on 25 footers at Jaws on soft-top logs.
This story is adapted from a history by Soft Top Surf. Check out their website for more facts on soft top surf boards.
Want to talk to the king of riding soft top surfboards himself? Check out the Jamie O’Brien Surf App here for exclusive, one-on-one surf coaching with Jamie anywhere, anytime.
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