101 FREE SURFBOARDS! Check out the roll-call – and the newie

We’ve had a lot of fun getting to phone 100 Aussie readers to tell them they’ve won a new board just for being a PLB subscriber, but can’t wait to blow some reader’s mind with number 101. And hey, it could be you!

Seriously, where are those Guinness people?

It was somewhere back around the turn of the millennium while we were putting together Issue 17 that Roy Lee from Newcastle’s Atoll Longboards phoned us out of the blue to say he had a board he’d designed with legendary locals Ronny Rudder and Steve Butterworth, and would we like one to give to a subscriber in exchange for a bit of promo. Well of course we would!

It was a performance tri-fin and we gave it away to an Australian subscriber and it must have went pretty well for Roy as he was keen to do the next issue too . . . and kinda by default our endless subscriber board giveaway was off and running.

Other manufacturers noticed, everyone seemed pretty happy, especially the winners, and here we are 101 boards on and still rolling! 

A huge thank you to all the manufacturers, and the shapers, and glassers, and sanders . . . and to all you subscribers who enjoy and support PLB. 

1. Atoll Longboards 9’1” Ronny Rudder Beach Break
2. Atoll Longboards 9’4” pintail Roy Lee Extreme 
3. Gerry Lopez 8’6” The Baby thruster, import
4. Atoll Longboards 9’3” Ronny Rudder Beach Break
5. Gerry Lopez 8’0” fun board The Cheater, import
6. Lightning Bolt Gerry Lopez 7’10” retro Pipeliner, import
7. MC Surfboards 9’6” Noserider, shaper Michael Cundith
8. Gordon & Smith 9’4” Customline , shaper Nigel Perrow 
9. South Coast 9’1” JC Model, shaper Ian Chisholm 
10. Gordon & Smith 9’6” Hot Curl, shaper Mike St John
11. Bennett Surf 7’10” “Slightly Stoopid” one-off midlength
12. Classic Malibu 9’6” Jai Lee, shaper Peter White
13. South Coast 9’6” Dane Peterson, shaper Ian Chisholm
14. Jackson 9’4” 3-stringer, shaper Jim Parkinson 
15. Imperial 9’5” Bohemian, shaper Dave Boyd
16. South Coast 7’6” Freedom, shaper Ian Chisholm
17. South Coast 8’0” Slot Machine, shaper Ian Chisholm
18. McTavish 9’5” 3-stringer Redline, shaper Bob McTavish
19. Classic Malibu 9’6” Old School, shaper Peter White
20. South Coast 9’6” Stylemaster, shaper Ian Chisholm
21. McTavish 8’0” Egg single-fin, shaper Bob
22. Golden Breed 10’0” 3-stringer, shaper Mike St John
23. Bear Surfboards 9’1” BT , shaper Bill Tolhurst
24. McTavish 9’1” Fireball, art by Paul McNeil, shaper Bob 
25. MC 7’0” Danny Wills Speed Fish, shaper Michael Cundith
26. G&S 9’1” Widowmaker, Laguna Bay, shaper Mike St John
27. McTavish 7’11” Carver thruster, shaper Bob McTavish
28. Jackson 9’1” Classic Cruiser, shaper Sam Tehan 
29. Nat Young 9’4” Classic, shaper Darrell “Rooster” Dell
30. South Coast 9’6” Stylemaster, shaper Ian Chisholm
31. Hobie 9’5” ’60s-template Vintage Model, US import
32. August/Tolhurst/Ingleby 9’1” collab, Tolhurst handshape
33. Bobby Brown 9’5” Hot Generation replica Jackson – Jim Parkinson 
34. Noosa Longboards 9’1” JC Performance, shaper Dave Boyd
35. Bing 9’8” Silver Spoon classic Californian metallic, US import
36. Golden Breed 10’0” Californian, shaper Mike Davis
37. Jye Byrnes 9”4” Signature  pinline art, shaper Jye Byrnes
38. Wayne Rich 9’2” Pope Bisect, US Import
39. Laguna Bay 9’6” Flip Tail 3-stringer, shaper Mike St. John
40. G&S 9’6” Dane Wilson Model, shaper Nigel Perrow
41. Classic Malibu 9’3” V-Flex v-stringer, shaper Peter White
42. Soul Surf 9’1” Performer Swirl, shaper Seb Barbarino
43. Laguna Bay 9’1” Taylor Jensen, shaper Mike St. John
44. McTavish 9’3” SLX Original epoxy pintail, shaper Bob
45. G&S 9’8” Old School ’60s template, shaper Nigel Perrow
46. Jye Byrnes 9’4” Foam & Fibre, 5-stringer, shaper Jye
47. Walden Hang Glider 9’6” volan, shaper Steve Walden
48. Bing Elevator 10’0”, shaper Matt Calvani, US import 
49. High Tide 9’4” Noserider, shape & art by Jordie Brown
50. Gato Heroi 9’6” Dagger, Alex Knost, shaper Robin Kegal
51. Astro 7’0” Silk Paisley Twin Fish, shaper Gary Burden
52. Laguna Bay 9’1” Flip Tail Noserider, shaper Mike St John
53. Joel Fitzgerald 9’0” pintail Bombora, shaper Joel Fitz
54. Max Tag 9’5” three-stringer Glider, shaper Max Tag
55. Thomas 9’5” Jai Lee Noserider, shaper Thomas Bexon
56. Express 9’1” Hydro Shifter, shaper Paul Armstrong
57. Outer Island 9’1” Super Mal, shaper Mitchell Rae
58. Jye Byrnes 9’2” Foam & Fibre, 3-stringer, shaper Jye
59. Classic Malibu 9’8” ’60s Pig, shaper Peter White
60. High Tide 8’0”, shape & psychedelic art Jordie Brown
61. McTavish 8’6” Stepdeck volan, shaper Bob McTavish
62. Pieter 9’6” Stringerless Plank, shaper Pieter Stockert
63. Classic Malibu 9’3” Abaca, epoxy, Peter White
64. Surf Empire 9’5” Step Deck, shaper Michael Saggus
65. Factory 9’6” Grugstep, shaper Matt Williams
66. Warhurst 10’0” King Brown, shaper Andrew Warhurst
67. Pieter 10’0” 1950s Skeg Pig, shaper Pieter Stockert 
68. Dead Kooks 9’5” Nausea resin tint, shaper Eden Saul
69. Thomas 9’4” ’60s Hayden Dot, shaper Thomas Bexon
70. Bennett Surf 9’1” Jumping Jack, shaper Dougie
71. Nettleton 9’6” 10 Grand Noserider, shaper Sean
72. Classic Malibu 9’1” Powerhouse, shaper Peter White
73. Bennett Suf 9’4” Dane Pioli Log, shaper Dougie
74. NMC Surfboards 9’8” Californian, shaper Nick McAteer
75. Dead Kooks 9’7” Summer Babe, shaper Eden Saul
76. Outer Island 8’6” Super Mal, shaper Mitchell Rae
77. DJB 9’4” Medusa, 50/50, hippy, shaper Daniel Bekis
78. Little Cove 9’6” Promethium, shaper Mike Davis 
79. Oceanside 9’4” Noserider, shaper Dru Sheppard
80. Dead Kooks 9’6” CJ Nelson, shaper Eden Saul
81. Wilkerson 9’8” Mojo volan, shaper Matt Wilkerson
82. Keyo Surfboards 9’1” TP-V, shaper Johnny Gill
83. Clearwater 9’3” Viper, shaper Steve Del Rosso
84. Warhurst 9’8” Pilsner, shaper Andrew Warhurst
85. Chelman 9’2” Black Square, shaper Ryan Chelman
86. Jye Byrnes 9’4” V-Wizard, shaper Jye Byrnes
87. Dead Kooks 9’6” Nausea, shaper Eden Saul.
88. Warhurst 9’6” Sugar, shaper Andrew Warhurst
89. Chelman 9’1” Pro Tri, shaper Ryan Chelman
90. Carabine Shakey 9’6”, shaper Terry Bishop
91. Warhurst 9’2” Pilsner, shaper Andrew Warhurst
92. Warhurst 9’7” Pilsner, shaper Andrew Warhurst
93. Carabine Shakey 9’4”, shaper Terry Bishop
94. Nettleton 9’6” Multiply, shaper Sean
95. Clayton 9’8” Noserider, shaper Clayton Bell
96. Sugar Mountain 9’4” HTD, shaper Jordan Nobel
97. Carabine Shakey 10,0”, shaper Terry Bishop
98. Chelman 9’1” DoubleEnder, shaper Ryan Chelman
99. Carabine Shakey 10,0”, shaper Terry Bishop
100. Riley 9’6” 5-stringer foam core balsa Hawaiian Gun – shaped by Mark Riley

101.  CHECK IT OUT!

 DONALD TAKAYAMA DT 60s MODEL 

If you’ve ever wondered why Donald Takayama is considered the guru of longboard shapers, how about this rollcall of surfers from back in the day who rode his boards and sung his praises: Rabbit Kekai, David Nuuhiwa, Miki Dora, Lance Carson, Nat Young, LJ Richards, Jeff Hakman, Reno Abellira, Linda Benson, Ben Aipa, Rell Sunn, Rusty Miller, Mike Doyle, Bertlemann, Buttons, and Dane Kealoha, just for starters.

His close working relationship with Joel Tudor and Kassia Meador over many years during the rebirth are well documented and they still name-check him often on social media, but Bonga Perkins, Jimmy Gamboa, Stephen Slater, Kai Sallas, Tyler Warren, Tom Wegener, Christian Wach and Tommy Witt were also on his shapes through the ’90s and beyond – and for sure we’ve missed a bunch. 

Donald grew up surfing around Honolulu and was the original child phenomenon, and he went on to become a fearsome competitor throughout the ’60s.

The DT 60s was originally his signature model at Jacobs Surfboards, which he first designed and shaped when he was just 22 after moving to California. Donald jumped to Bing Surfboards in 1966 where he designed the era defining David Nuuhiwa Noserider, and later to Weber with the super popular Weber Performer.

He started his own Hawaiian Pro label in the ’70s and shaped every type of board under the sun, and with the return of the longboard in the ’80s his DT 60s Model became the benchmark. In the late ’90s it was described in US Longboard magazine as “one of the most functional and appealing boards ever made”.

 Are you in the running?