Buy a re-issue of the board that made Rusty Preiesendorfer famous and kicked Occ's career into gear…
I ain’t one for throwing money at useless causes. If I can get for five what sells for 10 I will. Phone plans? I’ll grind the companies into the ground for a $50 plan. Utlitilies? What’ll you give me if I combine gas and electricity? New car? I ain’t budging til those seats are nappa leather and the steering wheel has buttons.
But I like quality. I like the idea of buying something that’s been built from the ground up with the sole aim of beauty and excellence. And for that I’ll pay whatever.
See this board here? It’s 1200 shekels. I haven’t seen a board with that much on it since the nineties when Greg Noll and Miki Dora made a limited run of Da Cat boards at $1500 apiece. Now they’re worth 10-gees and up. If you can find one.
But maybe it ain’t a vanity purchase (unlike, say, a three-pack of Mandingos pawing your woman. Hello Pete Taras! You know I kid!). This is a hand-made reproduction of the surfboard that was made in 1983, but only ridden by its master Mark Occhhilupo who was the hottest 16-year-old surfer in the world back then, the following year and henceforth became known as the ’84.
The shaper, Russell Preisendorfer of Canyon surfboards, had been watching Occ surf heats at a contest in California in ’83 and saw the kid dying in his turns. Russ figured he could square up the rail and save him sinking.
Russ walked up to Occ, said, I wanna make you a board.
Occ said, Yep, but didn’t ride it until the Pepsi Pro Junior the following year (he won it).
That year, Occ travelled with that one 6’2″ and used it everywhere from J-Bay to Japan to California, including a memorable win at the ’84 Op Pro
Russ calls the square rail and the squash tail his “one little contribution to the development of the thruster.”
And ’cause Occ was so hot everyone wanted a board from Russ. Soon it was 25 a month, then 75, finally 100 before he became the first guy to hire ghost shapers.
“I was making thousands,” says Russ who soon left Canyon to start up his own label.
Last year, Rusty surfboards‘ Damon Hayes figured it would be rad to re-issue the board, complete with original decals, Occ’s classic Billabong sponsor logo, glass-in fins and team glassing. All hand-shaped by Russ himself. Rusty had made a version in the nineties called the ’84 but couldn’t dress it up like this ’cause of the Billabong clothing/Rusty clothing conflict.
Rusty gave a board each to their team riders at Rocky Point, Hawaii, last December for a group jam. Noa Deane, Josh Kerr and Jay Davies took ’em to the sky; Occ, meanwhile, waited half-an-hour for a set that was… just right… and put it on a rail like nothing had changed in the previous thirty years.
“It felt like I knew the board already,” says Occ. “It brings back a lot of memories. It kinda felt like home.
And the one small difference between the replicas and the original?
Because Occ was such an animal, Rusty placed the back fin 2 3/4″ from the tail so he wouldn’t spin out; the replicas are set at 3 1/4”. Russ respects you but says y’ain’t got the same jam as Occ. “No one’s got that same leg power,” says Russ.
Email: rusty84@rusty.com.au if you want one…