So fierce in the water Gerry Lopez described him thus, "When you see Ben coming, don't think, just get out of the way."
If you know your surf history, you’ll know the legend of Ben Aipa.
He was the creator of the stinger design that gave ol Marky Richards, later a four-time world champ, a rocket underfoot in the winter of ’75, and who was so fierce-looking and powerful in the water Gerry Lopez described him thus, “When you see Ben coming, don’t think, just get out of the way.”
(In Matt Warshaw’s list of 15 Best Power Surfers Warshaw writes, “Rode Sunset Beach like Jim Brown on a broken-field run. Power and finesse. Rudely underappreciated at a longboard surfer.”
His two sons, Duke and Akila, have carried the shaper-surfer flame into the twenty-first century, both arch-craftsman, Akila you’ll know already as the man who built the board Kelly lit Keramas up on in 2019.
Now here’s the thing.
Ben, who turns seventy-eight in August, is sick, real sick, blood infections, heart issue, diabetes and he’s been hit by myriad strokes.
And in the US, catastrophic illness means catastrophic medical bills.
You want to help?
His second wife, Leonore, is selling all his boards via an auction house. Click here.
“He’s been my husband and now he’s my child,” Leonore told Hawaii News Now. “I take care of him as a mother will take care of her child.”
Or if picking over Ben’s personal surfboard collection feels a little ghoulish, you can drop a little cash into the gofundme account Duke has set up.
Its goal is to raise fifty k; so far it’s at seven gees.
When I heard that Ben was sick, I called his son Akila who grew up with a front-row seat to the North Shore, with a famous, and famously loved Dad.
A rare soul connected to surfing’s cultural continuum.
“Yeah, man, well, everyone knows him for his stinger, but his greatest contribution was how long he shaped for, how consistent he was, the attention to craftsmanship… there was a level of integrity in his boards for sixty years,” says Akila.
“For my brother and I there’s a sense of pride in how we build boards. We carry on the tradition.”
He inspired me to shape surfboards.
Me too. 3 of the 4 boards that I have shaped are Aipa Stingers. It’s the shape that I connect with the best.
It does get used in rugby league commentary a bit. Given, all running in Aussie Rules is ‘broken field’ running, it doesn’t get used at all.
Learnt to surf at Kuhio Beach park on a snapped Aipa gun , and I remember his shop was downtown, full of beautiful Stingers , did he invent the “step” in the Stinger as well ? There’s a good question for the internet surf scholars
From a Kamaina 🤙🏻
Sad to hear. The first proper surfboard I ever stood up on was a hand-me-down Goodtime kneeboard that had a stinger shaped into it by my next door ‘mad scientist/shaper neighbour. The board most memorable moment was after paddling for about 20 minutes trying to push through a 3’ swell at Currumbin Alley, I thought I had made it out the back. Having so much foam in the nose meant my 10 year old, 35kg/77lb frame couldn’t duck dive it, so paddling heroically into whitewater was the only choice. By this stage I was past the creek heading north, and thought I was golden.
One more set appeared in front of me. I couldn’t get my arms moving enough to paddle forward with any momentum. As the top of the wave crumbled before me, I grabbed the rails and expected to push through. However, the lack of momentum and the flea-weight on the board combined to allow the wave to push me backwards onto the wave. Did the un-intentional fin first take off, got to my feet and surfed that one wave to the shore at least.
I’m an Australian who knew what ‘broken field run’ meant, but have no idea who Jim Brown was.
his boards being sold… a Go-Fund-Me being set up… to pay medical bills… yup, you know the country…
So sad to hear this turn of events for the Aipa family. I wish them the best in this trying time. Some nice boards on the auction site. I keep staring at that photo, it is soo good. Ben in his prime just laying in on a rail. The quality of that old transparency film is sometimes forgotten in this digital age.
Warren Bolster captured the magic better than anyone.
What’s a comment section for ,if not school boy comedy and school boy maths?
Also how do I turn off the email notifications on comments?
JFK’s White House sexual shenanigans (when Jackie was away) we’re referred to as “broken-field running through the bedrooms”, a slightly more recent usage.
Does that mean you’re 76 yrs old?
A true artist and craftsman in the shaping bay.
Oh boy I am going to make a real cuntish remark here…no disrespect to Mr aipa, who sounds like a genuine legend…but elderly, overweight, with several underlying serious medical conditions…
Havent’t the writers on this site been pretty clear on how it views this category of human over recent months?
Fair point, and now our own little water dancing sub-group of society gets to decide if Mr. Aipa’s contributions are worthy of our dollars so that he and his family aren’t saddled with medical debt! Bummer on multiple levels.
Ben Aipa will be respected through surf history. His skill, His dedication to youth learning surfing skills…..Ben’s entire life was dedicated to the sport we all love. His contributions are endless. He has such wonderful Aloha…he is a super Hawaiian . He never showed favs…he was a guy where every encounter with him made you feel special. He is a person that will be respected. I believe “Uneducated” is an excellent name for you!……………..We love you Ben, Bill and Alison Brundage
Hey thanks for that reply. I am so sorry if my remarks were in any way interpreted as any sort of negative towards this obviously great man. It was in no way my intent. I was trying to call out what I thought was hypocrisy from the writers at the time, who were writing many, what I found, irresponsible and offensive remarks regarding covid
I dont wish to take any credit, as I am sure none is due but I have noticed they have not continued that path for a while
Apologies again
https://www.collinsdictiona…
Even the dictionary nerds know what it is
I Love Ben Aipa.
I love the Stinger.
how good does it look in that photo?
I know right! Mint condition.
How’s the custom fin box?
Yeah, that was a thing back in the late 70’s – a fin box that you could slide the fin up the board so it was sitting in front of your back foot. I remember seeing Buttons using it in a film, so of cause us groms went straight home and started hacking into our boards!
One man crowd at Kaisers….
He’s always been really sick. Gotta love watching a big man throw the rig around.
You’d be familiar with Habba then no doubt..