"A humble colossus whose impact echoed thru the decades."
Ben Aipa is dead.
The legendary Hawaiian shaper, creator of myriad surfboard innovations and a man so fierce-looking Gerry Lopez described him thus, “When you see Ben coming, don’t think, just get out of the way” has died of multiple illnesses.
Ben 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, according to Matt Warshaw’s list of 15 Best Power Surfers, Ben “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, 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.
Ben, who turned seventy-eight in August, was terribly ill, heart issues, diabetes, dementia and had been hit by myriad strokes.
In a post to Instagram today, Akila writes,
At no time in my life would I ever be ready to share with the world my fathers final day…. The passing of the greatest man I know.
SO…Instead….I am going to tell you the story about a boy, from a poor sugar cane plantation family…whose determination was unmeasurable….that literally carved out his legacy one board at a time .
A man from the simplest of backgrounds who would change the face of surfing…
A humble colossus whose impact echoed thru the decades…masterfully mentoring generations of champions…in and out of the water…in competition and life….and somehow in all this…finding the time to stoke out tens of thousands of surfers with the best shaped boards all around the world along the way…..
Most of you know Ben Aipa, the surfer, the shaper,the coach or the legend…but to me he’s just my dad and I’m so very proud of him and I’ll Miss him dearly.
Dad…I hope you enjoy the next part of your journey . @akila_aipa and I have this from here and we’ll make you proud .
Aloha Oe’
A Hui Hou
Ben Aipa from ENCYCLOPEDIA of SURFING on Vimeo.
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Uncle Ben would correct you.
STING not Stinger.
the story about him punching michael peterson at sunset in the 70’s was a good one.
DUKE Aipa wrote that eulogy. Not Akila. Akila also penned his own beautiful piece on Instagram.
I read a surfers journal article about him years ago that described him starting surfing relatively late – early 20s, after having been a football star. if true, could he have been exception to the VAL rule ?
RIP Ben Apa, a legend from the days when Hawaiians were Hawaiian and took surfing and localism seriously Rather than pretty blonde haole transplants unboxing things and talking about themselves . Vale
Surfed with him at Ala Mo and Lani’s multiple times. Jovial and very interested in checking out other boards.
Heard he was a brawler as a teenager on Kauai and as a young man on Oahu.
RIP – total legend. Gave so much to surfing. All the best to his kids and friends.
the sport of kings, just lost another.
He really knew how to throw those big boards around. A colossus of the age. Best wishes to the family.
That clip! Beautiful
The way he used his arms in his surfing was unique RIP.
The first proper board I ever had was a kneeboard the local older teens had re-shaped into a Aipa style stinger. It was too small for them, so it ended up in my possession for a while, until they reclaimed it for another Frankenstein experiment I’d reckon. I can’t say the stinger via kneeboard was the best board I’ve ever had, but it launched me down a path, and a few others have had some Ben Aipa influence on theor surfing one way or another over the years I’m sure.
At your height, what, did you outgrow it in a couple weeks?
I would have been about 8 or 9, so a little bit shorter*. It was about 5’4″, and while plan shape was pulled in, it very much had the rocker of a classic ‘slab’ style kneeboard of the era.
The most notable surf experience on it was a perfect 3′-4’Currumbin Point break summer day. Young Lemon, didn’t have the paddle power to pierce the whitewater and ended up getting washed down in front of the creek mouth, where a gap appeared, and access to beyond the break beckoned. But one more wave reared up and Lemon had only spaghetti arms.
As the wave crumbled over, it caught young Lemon, who was yet to unlock duck-diving ability, pushed him backwards, performed a 180, and allowed him to claim that as his first real wave from out the back.
*I was a late developer. Tallish, but nowhere near among the tallest at high school. It was just I kept growing for about two years after everyone else stopped.
Beautiful words by Akila in celebration of his Father’s life and legacy.
Oh man… what a sad news.
Condolences to all Aipa family and his brothers and sisters, to those that love the man and his art work.
May comfort reach all hearts at the right time. Light to all, and to Ben into his new journey.
Rest In Power, heavy and powerfull, Ben!
Here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the seventies (more in the beginning, and half decade), two things were considered treasures, relics and objects of desire …
AIPA and GS (Gordon Smith), because of the outline, shape and mainly the air brushes
I was fortunate to stay at home with an AIPA (it wasn’t mine) and surf a lot with her …
Even today for me an object of desire.