Unreleased Video from George Greenough.
Above: A still from a lost 16mm waveriding film from George Greenough’s Deep Tube Riding, shot in the late 1960s. After the jump, watch the video.
Only a select handful have really made a significant contribution to the development of surfboard design, ones whose influence was so great that surfing was fundamentally altered forever. Any surfer’s list of greats would include George Greenough, but I feel confident in stating that he is the greatest innovator of all time.
Ever since his early years, growing up in the Santa Barbara area in the 1950s and early 1960s, George has always tinkered with various types of equipment. Enhancing the performance of various objects, like go-karts, surfboards, boats, or water housings for his cameras, always captivated him.
He is the epitome of the do-it-yourself man, even with his renowned self-shaped bowl cut. He was (and still is) inherently compelled to look for and create any kind of design advantage or upgrade that would result in a better ride or capturing a distinctive image. He was motivated by making things better rather than by making a quick cash.
He made two very significant contributions to surfing, but they are completely interconnected.
Built from soup to nuts, George rode very short, spooned-out kneeboard designs. Bob McTavish and Nat Young were not blind to his progressive, futuristic style to riding waves on such small boards, as they witnessed him gliding, turning, and darting on or across areas of the wave never seen or imagined before.
In an attempt to surf the same as George did on his kneeboards, Bob and Nat modified their surfboards to incorporate George’s extremely distinctive fin design, which is based on the shape of a tuna fin. His fin and bold, progressive style to riding waves spread, contributing to the increased maneuverability of the large, cumbersome longboards of the era. In less than a year, there was a mad rush to make all surfboards even shorter and more nimble so people could ride like George, albeit with their bodies completely upright. Surfers transitioned from cruising, trimming, and riding straight on their large longboards to performing power and speed turns and tight radius turns. For surfers, it was an exciting time of transition.
George also had a particular mission to convey the experience of riding a wave inside its barrel. He got the bright idea to put a camera on his back and record the first-ever surfer’s perspective from inside the tube. He created numerous prototypes before perfecting the water housing and the back mount strap, which together weighed about 17 pounds. In 1969, he published a film titled The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun, which captivated viewers all over the world.
George recently discovered some previously undiscovered video and made a few quick tweaks. One of these is seen in the video that follows, along with some commentary from George to take you through his perspective and method of making this point.
