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Kneeboard Surfing New Zealand
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These are photos out of magazines in the early 70's. A time when the likes of George Greenough, Steve Lis and Ron Romanosky commanded huge respect amongst the general surfing population, and photos of Kneelos frequently graced the pages of the major surf mags.
Sorting through a pile of my old mags the other day, there were more with kneelo photos than without. How times have changed.
Thanks to Bud McCray, Bob Welch, Marshall Myrman, Tom Wolverton, and Chris Anderson for their contributions, ID's and comments.
Latest Additions
George Greenough
Steve Lis
Ron Romanosky
Rex Huffman
Mark Huffman
Dean Cleary
Fred Peterson
Joe Galonka
Colin Hurst
Mark Skinner
Greg Carpenter
Chris Cahill
Steve "Creature" Newbegin
Tom Wolverton
Chris Anderson
Dan Camp
Bruce Royer
Tom Ditty
Jim McNulty
Various Unknowns
The Wedge
The Ranch
Rincon
Captions: George Greenough, Australia
from an interview with Greg Huglin... Dreaming Up A Fantasea by Drew Kampion
Surfer June 1978/ p.39
Caption: George Greenough rode "Velo" at Rincon, then crossed oceans to spur Australian short board design.
from the article: TEN YEARS AFTER......THE SHORT BOARD REVOLUTION by Paul Gross
Surfer June 1978/ p.39
Caption: Greenough's mat riding explored lenght and flex concepts.
from the article: TEN YEARS AFTER......THE SHORT BOARD REVOLUTION by Paul Gross
Surfer June 1978/ p.39
Caption: Two working as one! Greenough and Cundith with steps beyond the rounded hull.
form the article: A STEP FURTHER by Don Balch
Surfer June 1978/ p.45
Photo: Jeff Divine
Caption: Lis and his fish.
from the article: TEN YEARS AFTER......THE SHORT BOARD REVOLUTION by Paul Gross
At Jalama, North of Point Conception,
California
These shots are of Ron at the Newport Wedge in 1970 on a
"spoon". He still makes them to order alongside his regular kneeboards. Visit his website for more information
and to see his gallery of awesome photographs.
Surfer April 1979/ p.76
Photo: Woody Woodworth
Caption: Amongst the locals, wave size is downplayed. This one was called "three feet
from the back." How would you call it? Romanosky at the bottom.
1977 "Pipeline Expression" event
Photo: Warren Bolster
This was the inside cover for International Surfing Oct/Nov but the year is not listed.
However this is somewhere between 1972-73 before Lopez dropped International from the
overall title. This was taken on the rocks at Windansea, La Jolla which is the beach
where Big Rock is located.
Photo: John Matheson
Publication, Date unknown
Caption: Fred Petersen, Huntington Beach. "Only a moment out of a past of accomplishments and a future of ideas."
Photo: Flame
Caption: Colin Hurst, Sandstone Reef
from the article KNEEBOARDS Understanding The Individule Approach
Surfer June 1978/p.54
Photo: Warren Bolster
Caption: Mark Skinner exits the bowl section of a very intense La Jolla reef tube.From the
article: Knee Spree
International Surfing Photo Annual '73/ p.88
Photo: Warren Bolster
Caption: Mark Skinner, Colombo's. Eyeful.from the section Knees. Colombo's, aka. Big Rock
Inter National Surfing Photo Annual '73/ p.90
Photo: Warren Bolster
Caption: Mark Skinner, Colombo's. Smokin'! From the section Knees. Colombo's, aka. Big
Rock
International Surfing Photo Annual '73/ p.85
Photo: Warren Bolster
Caption: Mark Skinner, Colombo's. Home is where your head is. From the section Knees.
Colombo's, aka. Big Rock
These 2 photos have recently ID'd by Mark himself. Both taken by Marsall Mryman
Caption: Greg Carpenter somewhere in Central America.
Steve "Creature" Newbegin. Big Rock
Commentary by Bob Welch :-
This guy rode his Lis board without grabbing the rail like all the others. If you've ever
had the opportunity to ride on of these boards you would know how difficult this can be
due to the stiffnes of it's design and the extremely wide based fins setup. He ripped and
put on a great show. The crew used to heckle him and call him knee-ski because his arms
were always waving around to maintain the body leverage he needed to manuever his board
without clutching the rail like his buddies. If you ever get to see old footage of BK at
Sunset you could compare the styles quite easily. "Cosmic Children" has some
good sequences.
This recently ID'd photo is an old shot of "Creature" at Big Rock, when he used to ride a shell and always wore wetsuit gloves.
7th August 2001
Steve has just emailed me to correct his surname. He adds this about his
boards...
I still have the original shell which in the photo had three fins before tri-fins had even been thought of for surfboards.
The center fin was broken when board fell off a car rack and would not hold the drops at Big Rock. So I attached two smaller fins on either side. Before I did this, I had not seen any other surfboards with tri-fin setup. Later, while working with Tom Morey & Co. in the early Boogie days, I filled the board with boogie foam and a skin for a deck.
The board still flexed but had more floatation and easier shock on the knees. It wasn't so expensive and kneeboarding is now such a lost art, I would make a more modern version.
Unfortunately it was too small and Skip Frye made me a kneeboard gun which is in the other photo. I still have both these boards after 30 years.
The original kneeboarders and locals of Big Rock meet every year at low tide on Christmas and stick a Christmas tree on the rock.
Tom discovered the site and sent in this ID
This is a photo of me in the middle of an "El Rollo" at Big Rock. In this photo, I am riding a fish made by Louis Greco. (It had nothing to do with La Rana Kneeboards)
Tom Wolverton - Big Rock
Photo: Warren Bolster
Surfing Magazine; AUG/SEPT 1974; p.26; From the Photo Essay: Warren's: Warren Bolster
Caption: "Although 'El Rollos' aren't new to kneeboarding, I had only seen attempts before. On catching Tom Wolverton's act one morning at Ledges, I had to call for a repeat. Being completely crazed, as most kneeboarders are, he obliged us all with at least four or five more. Even if you don't believe it, I hope it can give you some insight."
These comments from Tom...
I remember that photo. Looks kind of silly, don't you think?
El Rollos are not that photogenic....at least when I do them off they aren't! :
) I remember that day. Bolster was sitting on the inside and we were getting
afraid we would hit him in the head. I remember doing one wave where I did 2 El
Rollos in a row and was going for a third but I screwed it up.
They really aren't that hard to do. I was doing them just to be silly. Not serious surfing.
Thanks for the blast from the past. Actually, this is a better
photo than that La Rana ad. I think it is from the same era, too. The kneeboard is the same one.
- Tom
This photo ID'd by Greg Sinclair who I met in 1977 in Bali. Greg found my site and got back in touch. The world gets smaller every year!
The above 2 rows are thought to be Rex and Mark Huffman and Mark Skinner at Big Rock / Lobster Lounge
Surfing Dec/Jan 1974-75/ p.60
Photo: Bob Barbour
Caption: A kneerider says hello from within.
Big Rock
Unidentified
Photo, Publication, Date unknown
Surfer June 1978/ p. 55
Photo: Jeff Divine
Caption: Emerging as a stronghold of progressive kneeboard development,
the San Diego area's depth of talent and quality waves has generated a
high performance atmosphere. - From the article photo article Knee Spree.
Photo:Woody Woodworth
Caption: Terry "Sac" Wade, experiencing gravity pull. Sometimes the forward
speed of the drop is so great it actually resists your turning effort.
Surfer April 1979/ p.76
Photo: Steve Sakamoto
Caption: Takeoff demands error-free judgment and execution. Terry Wade at the top of the
wall on a New Zealand swell day.
Surfer April 1979/ p.80
Photo: Woody Woodworth
Caption: A clean backdoor at the Wedge? This one looks makeable, but the odds are against
it
Cojo Pt., The Ranch
Surfer June 1978/ p.79
Photo: Woody Woodworth
Caption:"...so who do we believe?" , from the article:
LNG: THE RAPE OF THE RANCH An Expression of Futility and Outrage by Woody Woodworth and
Tom Kampas
Surfer June 1978/ p.56-57
Photo: Woody Wodworth
Caption: Rincon's another pocket of knee talent. Growth and enthusiasm has been
accentuated in Australia and California due to early influences: Lis in San Diego,
Greenough in Santa Barbara and Australia.. From the photo article Knee Spree.
