I wanted to first share a quick story...
My
first longboard, purchased after moving down from Humboldt (HSU class
of 98') to Santa Barbara, was a 9' Paul Gross beauty. I got it used (I
was living in a VW Westfailia at the time, to give you a sense of my budget)
from an SB surf shop in 1999, right out of the stack. I think the
"shaped for" name was Cesar??
It had/has a bomb glass job, including
double overlap on the rails, and being my first longboard I was stoked
to have anything that floated at the time. LB's are a must in SB and I
made an instant connection with the hully shape.
Among its many
adventures the board survived getting blown off the roof on the 101 up
by those Gaviota Coast wind tunnel canyons. I literally watched it
bounce off the highway on the tail, narrowly avoiding a semi and somehow
rolling/blowing into the median, all through the rear view mirror. It has
worn the tail rebuild well ever since. It rode Campus Point, small El
Cap, maybe too much Refugio, many a random Gaviota break, and lots of
c-street (I ended up living in Ventura my last year in the area). I've
pushed many friends or kids of friends into their first wave on the
board and it is now in the possession of a very good friend who is
progressing to the point of truly appreciating the board.
Around 2010 I
asked Jim Phillips to shape me a copy with full license to make any
"adjustments" he saw fit. He definitely followed the hull shape but
thinned the tail out and sharpened the rails. I had moved to San Diego
by then and was pretty locked in to a break between Swami's and Cardiff. Knowing the break, he may have been
customizing to my weight, overly closed stance, and the SD waters.
Despite the minor edits it is certainly the living embodiment of that
very first and very magical 9' Paul Gross longboard that I still hold
near and dear to my heart.
Thanks,
Max
PS I've attached some pics of the new board. Jim expressed a genuine appreciation for the shape. Thought you might like to see it.
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