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There are few surfboards that cause a massive stir in the surfing world. The Hypto comes to mind immediately, of course, but so does John John Florence’s Ghost model. Shaped by Jon Pyzel, of course, it’s the board that makes everyone think they might just
might be able to surf a little more like John John. That’s not possible, but the Ghost sure does suit John’s surfing just about perfectly. It wouldn’t, though, if it weren’t for the dusty hands of Pyzel.
He’s a shaping legend, as you well know. He makes shapes that sit under the feet of John John Florence, Nathan Florence, Koa Rothman, and Mark Healey, just to name a few. Pyzel, a California native, grew up in Santa Barbara but made the move to Hawaii in 1992. He started off as a lowly ding-repair guy at Country Surfboards, then moved on to hot coating and laminating. There, he met Jeff Bushman, who decided to throw him a bone and give him a job as a back-shaper. From there, it was on.
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Santa Barbara s Lakey Peterson and Ojai s Sage Erickson were both a part of history as they surfed in the very first Pipeline women’s contest. Both surfers were knocked out in the quarterfinals Peterson by a mere 3.07 points in a battle with Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia, and Erickson by Brazil s Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil).
Beyond the 805-area surfers, many of the pros in both the men s and women s contests were riding locally made Channel Islands surfboards or Pyzel Surfboards, shaped in Hawaii by Santa Barbara-born surfer Jon Pyzel.
Santa Barbara native Jon Pyzel moved to Oahu in 1992 and started Pyzel Surfboards in 1995. (Courtesy photo)