Several years ago I was walking back from the beach with a friend, and he mentioned finding a website for the legendary 70’s shaper, Tom Parrish. He’d wanted to order a board ever since overhearing Jock Sutherland tell a guy in the line-up that the board he was riding, a Parrish, was ‘truly something special.’ My friend asked if I was interested, and although it was a tempting offer, I had just picked up boards and couldn’t swing it at the time. We remarked how amazing it was that TP was still alive and making affordable handcrafted boards. “Please contact us if you are interested in riding something unique,” reads his homepage (www.tpsurf.com). A few months later, a 7’9” single fin arrived in New York.

I knew Tom shaped for Lightning Bolt and was known for his classy single-fin guns favored by the likes of Mark Richards, Jeff Hakman, and Shaun Tomson but figured he’d disappeared into obscurity or perhaps worse. There was rumor that he left Oahu, became an attorney, and was practicing law on Maui. (This was later confirmed). You don’t read about him in surf publications, and you won’t find many advertisements for his product in them either. With the exception of the random TP-equipped photo of MR or Becky Benson in the Surfer’s Journal and Derek Hynd’s mention of him in TSJ Volume 11, Number 1 (2002), he remains relatively underground.

Perhaps TP’s most notable resurfacing for the younger generation has been through Andrew Kidman’s 1995 video “Litmus” in which Derek Hynd gracefully needles an 8’8” pintail single-fin in sizeable JBay; tucking in high and accelerating out of the barrel with exceptional speed. Hynd’s performance has become a fierce articulation of TP’s relevance, regardless of era or fin configuration. I wonder how many of the collectors paying upwards of $5,000 for his 70’s Hawaiian guns have seen this footage? Derek has been a major supporter of TP’s designs over the years and was contacted for a comment as was Andrew Kidman, who during the 1994 Bells Beach contest compiled a quiver of Parrishs left from the 70’s by touring hawai’ians and held a TP demo where individuals could experiment with the boards.

It wasn’t until 2006, when looking for a step-up board, something to ride on those blustery double-overhead winter days, that I finally contacted Tom. He responded immediately and was curious to hear exactly what I wanted. His views on custom shaping are based on the concept of collaboration, and he enjoys the challenge of making a board precisely as the person requested it.

About a week after he received my deposit I bumped into a guy learning to surf on a 6’8” Parrish single fin from the 70’s. I sent Tom some photos of it and asked about the board’s history, which got us talking about the 70’s halcyon days on the North Shore of Oahu and his early involvement with Quicksilver. He agreed to an interview but was reticent when it came to talking about himself. He suggested that I contact his friend Will Allison, an East Coast surfing champion and shaper based out of North Carolina. I spoke with Will on the phone, and he explained that he’s known Tom since the 70’s but couldn’t afford his boards back then. However, he now owns a mixed quiver of TP singles and thrusters. He vacations on Maui each year and reportedly surfs a mysto-left reef where Tom, a natural regular-foot, rides goofy so he can face the wave. Tom surfs as well as he shapes, and is known for being a ‘smooth-charger’ in waves of consequence.

This interview was conducted over email from October 2006-January 2007.

Michael Machemer: Where were you during the October 15th earthquake?
Tom Parrish: We were just about to paddle out and all of a sudden the pavement started that rolling thing you feel when you are drunk. At least that is what I think it feels like; hard to remember as it’s been awhile. It was a neat feeling, like we were riding the pavement, and then we realized what it was but didn't think much of it, just went surfing. When we got home a bunch of stuff had fallen in the house but not too bad. I’m glad we weren't there.

Weren’t you shaping in Jersey at one point?
I spent part of the summer of 1980 in Seaside Heights shaping for Greg "Grog" Mesanko (Grog’s Surf Palace) and had a great time. All the carny (carnival) stuff down on the boardwalk was fun to see each day, sort of like out of a movie. I went up to NYC a few times to see concerts in small clubs, some Yankee games and Santana on the pier. We did about 40 custom orders in one month, each board for a different character from New York, New Jersey, Maryland or Maine. Getting them custom glassed was also fun; Grog had his friend Ritchie do a few and we took some down to Dan Heritage in Maryland before he passed away. Grog thought it’d only take me two weeks to do 50 but the fun in shaping is in trying to get them as good as possible, not do them as fast as possible and there were lots of other things to do while there.

Grog was an excellent businessman and I found him to be a pretty funny, good guy. It was strange because we really didn't know each other and all of a sudden we were living together in his small apartment for a month. His girlfriend came over one night and got up on the hood of his nice, new Saab in her high heels and trashed it in a rage. Discovering it was surreal; Grog and I were in shock for a while.

While I was there, Nat Young showed up to show his movie Fall Line and shape a few boards. He made us surf 1 ft. slop and he ripped it. He was so stoked you would’ve thought it were 6 ft and perfect.

Speaking of Nat, do you remember doing a board that wound up with Dr. Mark Renneker?
I read that article with Jeff Clark, hmm pretty interesting. The 9’6" that Tom Curren apparently rode at Maverick’s was originally ordered as a maneuverable Sunset board by Nat, who usually shaped his own. 9'6" and maneuverable hardly belonged in the same sentence but since he wanted width and is a big guy, it was worth a try. When I was shaping the board, Nat got really frustrated with me because I wouldn't just pump it out. My block plane blades had gotten dull and the stringer was really tough on the bottom so I didn't want to keep going and make a bump where the stringer changed grains. He couldn't believe I would stop there for a few days to take my planes into Honolulu to have them sharpened. It was funny because I kept asking him to give it a little time so I could try to give him something good and he couldn't imagine it. Then he left Hawaii on an impulse and never got it. I don't think I saw him again until Grog's. It kind of made me wish I had done what he wanted and rushed it out lumpy. It later wound up in the Bolt shop on Kapiolani. Jack (Shipley) was so stoked to get such a big gun in the shop. The late Otis Chandler, then owner of the LA Times, somehow got wind of it and right away it was gone.

I guess that is how Dr. Renekker got it. The board was like 21" wide and 3 3/8" thick or something, which would be the bigger problem for a slender guy like Curren. That kind of width and thickness together with the speed and power of a big thick wave and a light rider would produce too much drag as the board gains speed no matter what fin is on it. I think they call that terminal velocity. A bigger guy can significantly change the equation but it would never have been the right board for TC.

Will Allison was talking about a thruster he found in Hawaii that was originally shaped for Tommy Curren. Do you remember that board?
Yeah, another "never got his board" story. Derek Hynd was here visiting one time and mentioned that Tom didn't have any good boards for Hawaii, and I said something like ‘let me give it a try’ and made him a 7'0" and a 7'10". This was when they were both with Rip Curl. I thought Derek would pick them up next time by and give them to Tommy but Derek left Rip Curl and TC was on his way out too. Not sure if TC ever even knew about them, probably not. I rode the big one for a year or so and then put it in the Maui Bolt shop. It was such a loose board, really neutral between the turn and cutback with that ball bearing feeling. A little thin for me but back then I could ride it. One day Will comes paddling up on it and asked me if I knew its history. He rode it real well that winter. Will is real good at using the whole board, turning from the tail sometimes carrying the momentum into a forward trim depending on the section. Lots of guys are good off the tail now but it’s as if the nose doesn’t exist. What is that saying, "old style or no style?" We measured it all over, a bunch of 7'10"s have been modeled off of that board.

Speaking of Derek Hynd, There’s an interview with him in the Surfer’s Journal (Volume 11 Number 1, 2002) where he mentions a remark that Terry Fitzgerald made about your boards being "too forgiving." Do you know it?
Don't know Fitz and hadn't heard that comment. Know Derek pretty well, he's been supportive for a long time. Not offended by Fitz’s statement. In a way there is some truth to that. And if you put it that way, I guess the straighter, hard railed boards seemed kind of unforgiving and one dimensional to me. Fast and....well ... fast. It amazed me how they could ride them so well without digging rail. Reno’s and Gerry’s were like that too: Low rockers, hard rails, really fast, lots of momentum and beautifully crafted. And yet their guru Brewer put lots of forgiveness into his boards. The curvier nose and tail rockers gave more relief to begin with and Brewer often put contour in the nose on the bottom, which transitioned to flat before and around center and then into a pocket of straighter rocker right in front of the fin. Around that time Brewer also started digging out the rocker on the deck to coordinate better with his bottom rockers while everyone else was still leaving the deck rocker real straight or with that ugly slight camel hump. This evolution freed up his boards even more. Brewer’s design had it all, speed and looseness, just real all-around boards. Fitz’s upbringing may have been in cleaner conditions where you could use more edge and needed less absorption. One thing for sure, his brilliant surfing was great testament to his boards’ performance. Personal preference is a good thing.

Derek Hynd elaborates on Fitzy’s ‘too forgiving’ remark:

Derek Hynd: The Fitzy 'too forgiving' statement, originally struck me like a thunderbolt. How could a shaper's equipment built for the heaviest situations be deemed too forgiving? I mean, there can never be anything too forgiving about not having to face massive hold- downs, right?

Terry's boards though, upon reflection, were an extension of his personality. As with Tom Parrish and his prime period designs, TF would smash through a brick wall, if not the first time, then the third, fifth, eighth, as long as it took. I was TF's protégé I guess and ran the same lines in many ways. TF's whole thing was Speed Thrills, and the razor edge added pure wildness to the surfing experience. Catch an edge, pay the price...so learn how not to catch an edge. Amaze yourself.

I rode an old 8'8" Parrish single in the Litmus video. Its hold and controlled drift in intense situations stunned me. Immediately I reflected upon TF's Too Forgiving theory back in the mid-late 70's. At 8ft JBay I reckon I got two of the best three barrels I've ever; and they were on that Parrish...20 years old but as fresh as a daisy. Learning to break the fin out on the bottom turn with the lip firing over, so as to do a controlled drifting stall, was one of the surfing moments of my life...I mean, knowing that the fin would regain its hold as the lip passed overhead then rocket me to the light - I've never had a freakier thrill. And it comes back to the super forgiveness. Tom's comments about TF and the edge crew are succinct. Indeed, one would expect nothing less from such a man.

Interesting comments on Brewer's board design. What was your relationship with him like?
Brewer and I never had much of any relationship and I don't really blame him. The first time we met I was sharing a room in the shop above Kam Highway on Hakuola Road near Ke Iki. Lots of good guys were in there; Brewer, Jim Turner and Don Koplien shaped upstairs, and Danny Calohan had the room downstairs which he, Sammy Hawk, Owl and I shared. Dave Garner glassed upstairs, and I think Jock Sutherland and Gary Chapman lived in the house on the property.

Lots of Brewer followers were always around trying to get boards and Brewer was mentoring Sammy and Owl while Danny Calohan was helping me learn. One day I went up to work and I think either Owl or Sammy was working in our room so they said just go work in Brewer's room. I was afraid to do it but went ahead after being assured it would be ok. Of course Brewer showed up and he was enraged that someone was in his room. He didn't want any explanation or apology, just get out now. Shaping rooms are kind of personal and even though I hadn't ripped any templates or touched his stuff, it was not good.

Our next encounter was just about as good. As the rookie of that shop I was in charge of the trash and back then we would burn the foam rails in a big steel ring. The first time I did a burn, it got going a little too much and the fire guys came rumbling up the dirt road after seeing the smoke. Brewer was in his room working and luckily so because he knew all the firemen. They were cool and didn't make a thing out of it but after they left, another lashing from Brewer about me having exposed the shop to possible closure. I learned fast from then on and years later when I got better at shaping he was distantly cordial. Not many people know this but the years when I got a lot of notice were right after his son had died in a car crash Brewer had while driving on Maui. Before that Brewer was so far ahead, nobody was even close. And although I became very, very busy over the next couple of years, I couldn't help feel that without his son's passing I might not have been in that position and Brewer would have gotten the credit for those years.

Lately I have heard some positive comments he has made about my boards, which is nice. His contributions are still more than all the considerable credit he has received. Brewer's design sense is so multi-dimensional and his willingness to be extreme with designs to really try them marked a style all his own. Strangely he didn't seem to like finishing them very well. He would get the fundamentals in better and more radical than anyone but in a rough kind of way. If I added anything to that period it was perhaps by interpreting the middle ground of his experimentation and by taking the time to get them a little more refined in the finish.

How would you describe your own boards, back then and now?
It’s kind of hard to talk about your own work, feels like blowing your own horn. I Guess what I have always tried to do is make the board as good as I can without regard to how long it takes or how much I make off of it. Try not to feel any compulsion to finish it at the end of a session, because there is always another session and my eye is fresher at the beginning of a session. So I keep coming back to them and finding little things to make them more custom or fit what the person wants. That approach was true then, and the same now. There are so many designs now, it’s really amazing. People are riding a wider range of designs than ever before and thankfully the fin systems are continuing to evolve.

Charlie Smith has been letting me share his room so we work together a lot on design and ways to improve the process. We collaborate on some shapes, which is something that really interests me. I tried that once with Reno and we did a board by each working on it for about 15 minutes. Each person was free to change what the other had done in their 15 minutes. The board came out so unique and it showed me that this method allowed something different to come about. Instead of using the computer which ends up making the boards look all the same or the pop outs which are all exactly the same, when Charlie and I both work on one board they come out with something extra distinctive. Charlie is a great surfer and shaper so between the 2 of us I think we have come up with boards that are better than I would be able to do on my own.

Do you listen to music when shaping?
Shaping to music is the only way, it helps inspire. Usually I listen to something pretty up-tempo so it helps you keep going as the hours add up. My favorite music is probably blues-rock and preferably something live. Hearing the spontaneous moments and the integration required in a live setting is especially nice.

Where are the boards glassed?
Custom work is very challenging from finding the right blank to making sure the glass job comes out right. That means at least 4 or 5 people working on the board through the various stages. It takes coordination and commitment by all of us. We use Gott Glassing and Moonshine Distributions right now. Each has a 4 or 5 person team, one of which is Dave Peterson, Craig Peterson's (70’s pioneer surf-travel journalist w/Kevin Naughton) brother. Dave does incredible airbrushing; he worked with Gerry Lopez for quite a while and always seemed to come up with the best interpretation of Gerry's camouflage look. Each board Petey works on shows so much creativity and originality. His sense of color and ability to tape off complimenting the outline makes the boards he works on really stand out. All the guys are excellent at their positions but working with Petey while he was up at Gerry's and continuing now is a real luxury.

Who did the logo?
The logo was done by Boscoe Burns, Ronnie Burn's dad. Boscoe's only rule if you were lucky enough to get him to glass your boards was that there were no orders. That didn't mean we got all clears. He wanted free reign to put designs on them as he felt accented the board. Each week was something different and one week it was that logo. He liked it and it started showing up on more and more of them. People have called it the “moon bolt” but it was never intended to be that, it was just Boscoe's flavor of the week and it stuck.

Any closing thoughts on the current state of surfing?
Since the proliferation of surf contests we have been getting further and further away from the original spirit of surfing. At first we were a bunch of misfits who wanted to be away from all the crap going on in society and just lead a simple life away from the landlubbers. It used to be that in order to be a real surfer you had to live a life of ‘less is better,’ one that didn't intrude on the environment. It wasn't about competition but rather sharing and trying to stay away from crowds and simply enjoy the beauty of creation. With contests came the idea of trying to bring crowds to the beach. With contests came the advent of dog-eat-dog positioning and the notion that it is alright to exploit the beaches and surf lifestyle for money.

Once it became acceptable to sell out for money and act like a rat in the lineup, the sportswear companies got involved and the money got bigger. Now nobody even remembers the kind of commitment and values it took to be a surfer. The kids are only learning to be as greedy as possible. The old philosophy of how to be a surfer was something credible and we could have been a strong force against those set on destroying the environment. Instead now we have these lazy wannabes buzzing the lineups in their jet skis and the media portrays this as cool. The guys who want to ride Jaws or Cortes Bank on skis have their place but the problem is too many guys are using them in 6-foot surf and polluting the line up with their fumes, wakes and greed.

And since it has become fashionable to be as greedy as possible, the pop out guys are back, trying to take over the world again with their mass-merchandising schemes. It sort of bugs me that they don't even touch the boards during production and yet they try to portray themselves as real grass roots. There are so many better ways to make big money if that is all they care about. If they don't like working on boards or are incapable of doing so, then they shouldn't do it and instead should become money grabbers in some other context. But to hold themselves out as surfers and to be promoting this crass mass market stuff as if they are doing surfing a favor, they add to the feeling I have about the dilution of the real spirit of surfing. Between them and the contests it’s become quite a different deal and I see no positive benefit. We have lost our souls and respectibility. We have become what we were trying to get away from.

Another example which illustrates the current state of surfing: Have you noticed how now when people paddle out into a line up of other surfers who’ve been out in the water before the new person, the new surfer inevitably paddles right by everyone to take the inside pole position? That used to get you a big slap and sent packing back to the beach with a lecture on having manners in the line up. Since in contests the biggest snake gets the prize, the new school feels justified in their rude, nonsensical approach. If they are so far back that they don't even make one wave, no matter, do the same thing again and again. It’s just an example of what would have been completely taboo before is now the only thing the kids are learning.

Also, have you noticed how often now kids come to the beach with a car load of buddies? How rare it is to see someone come to the beach by themselves? Used to be special to go surfing alone and try to find moments to commune with nature. Or at least if you entered the line up alone, guys in the line up might accept you as somebody who had a clue. Now its like if they go in a gang they can all be rude together so nobody can do much about it.

Anyway enough of the negative side of what now passes for surfers and surfing. In some ways things are better for the custom guys and there will always be a demand for a nice custom board. I have more orders than ever, however, after spending your whole life devoted to what was originally a beautiful, different style of life, it's kind of hard to see the sell out mentality completely diminish the foundation it continues to reap from. Well time to stop talking about it and paddle out.

End.

For more information about Tom Parrish, please visit www.tpsurf.com. All photos courtesy of Tom Parrish except where noted.

Special thanks to Derek Hynd, Will Allison, and Andrew Kidman for their insightful contributions. For more information on "Litmus", please visit www.litmus.com.au.

Michael Machemer is a New York surfer, writer, photographer, curator and a frequent contributor to Newyorksurf.com. Michael can be reached at eataknish@newyorksurf.com

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