Noted Newport shaper and designer says “fuck Asian imports”…
Californians of a certain age, that is, old, will remember ever so well the Newport shaper and designer Peter Schroff.
At his mid-eighties peak he was making boards as Peter Schroff Designs as well as an “anti-surf” line, Schroff clothing, boards and t-shirts emblazoned in luminous pinks and patterned like happy tropical fish.
Lately, Schroff, who is sixty three years old, has fashioned himself as the anti-imported surfboard and fiercely anti-Asian, provocateur. He throws his online barbs, mostly, at the Australian surfboard company Hayden Shapes and the Kelly Slater-owned Firewire Surfboards (although he targets the company’s CEO Mark Price) and Slater Designs, all of whom manufacture the bulk of their surfboards in south-east Asia.
Last year, Schroff filmed himself “performing and documenting the ritualized destruction of a Haydenshapes Hypto Krypto surfboard” at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club in New York, “in honor of those workers replaced by overseas labor.”
A recent post on Instagram:
“As we march forward let’s keep our dignity in this battle for a Asian import free nation, there’s power in freedom of speech without stooping to the level of name calling or anger.”
And,
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcZ09e6gJ2-/?hl=en&taken-by=peterschroff
Yesterday, Schroff did a little “yellow-face” on Instagram alongside, “does our dollar ‘av dis face on it?”
It follows a post loosed minutes before that says, “ask our foundin fathers wud day think of chinese junk?”
All of which was a little too much, even for Schroff’s small, but mostly devoted followers:
- shoupacabra I like your anti-corporate screeds but fuck this shit – UNFOLLOWED.
- tonyapolloperez Holy cow dude?
- happybattlesurfco Would love to buy you some beers if you ever in San Diego. Something I want to discuss with you in person on how we can help our friends and family in the surf industry. I’m not mad about this post or offended whatsoever. I get what you’re all about, but I think you are attacking the wrong group here my friend. Don’t attack the asians that doing all the manual labor. They are just doing what they contract to do by these mega surf corporation. They are just doing the labor. Want to make a big impact? You start small and educate the surf shops that sells these junk. Aloha.
- gillespieboards Your shit “cool dude” spelling and continual putting shit on people is getting me down. Your boards look good, but you just seem to be an angry old man who likes to show off (chainsaw shit), and stir the pot. Sick of your egotistical rants. Unfollow.
- dan_in_perth Wow, some racism. I was with you up until this point. Unfollowed.
- austintylerallen The fuck?
Do you mostly like the work of Newport’s ancient provocateur and think, gee whiz, it’d sure be nice to keep surfboard manufacturing as a local cottage industry and so forth, but regard Pete as a little out of tune on the anti-Asian thing?
Or do you have rifle in hand, hood on head and, oowee, you’re ready to run the fish-heads out of town?
One thing y’can’t take away from Schroff, however, are his boards.
