I came across this old photo of Austin when he was 15 or 16. It shows his original quiver of boards that he had built and collected. Starting from the 1 o’clock position: A sweet Bic, Pride, Pride, Weber, Austin #1, Austin#2, Austin #3, WRV, and a Spyder shortboard. We still have the Austin #1 & Austin #2 but all the rest have gone on to new homes. If you ever have the time ask Austin how a 45 caliber hole ended up in the nose of the Weber. Good Times 
Well Austin finally got around to finishing the first Paulownia and Balsa Paipo. She has the same dimensions as our standard Paipo but comes with two custom balsa and African Mahogany.
The new shop is finished. We changed things around to make it more customer friendly. Come check it out.
I ran across this photo of our local Legend Pete Smith and his son Pete Jr. Photo was taken around 1970. Check out those sweet pork chop side burns. Pete Smith was co-owner of one of the first surf shops in Virginia Beach called Smith & Holland Surf Shop.
Austin is offering, for a limited time, free shipping to anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. It must be shipped to a terminal or a place of business but 95 % of all cities have a shipping terminal within minutes of their residence. This include all boxing, handling, and shipping. A nice deal for the holidays!
Are you one of those new “GO GREEN” or go home surfers? If so why in the world would you order any surfboard other than one made from Paulownia wood? Granted Poly boards are not that great for the environment (even though we do try and limit our carbon footprint where we can) but epoxy isn’t the answer either. If you want a balsa board you might also run into trouble if they are clear cutting the forest to obtain it or cutting down old growth forest that should remain for the animals. The most eco-friendly and durable surfboard we feel is made from paulownia wood. All the paulownia that we purchase is farm grown that is planted and replanted specifically for the purpose of harvesting. None of the paulownia we purchase is wild grown. This helps us not buy wood that was illegally harvested and also keeps the paulownia crop going. For those tree hugger surfers wrap your legs around a paulownia board.
Austin goes through phases where he pushes the envelopes in each area of a surfboard build. His current area of focus is working on is in the different stringer arrangements. A few months ago it was custom fins and fin art. This was one of the wood and resin fins that he and Joe created. Austin sells the singular fins like this for $250 a piece but if he puts in on a board it would only be around $125. If you sold something like this as Art he could get 10 times that figure. From now on we do not sell surfboards we sell Art!
The Austin designed Bonzer type fins are not for the squeamish. They occasionally do bite back. The picture is of an Austin Surfboards family member that got pitched and then met the business end of his Figjam coming back up from the bar. Nice gash and a few stitches but no real damage thank goodness.
I have always loved this picture. I ran across it on another blog and saved it because I thought it showed the pure joy of surfing. Even through the water wings and goggles you can see the joy in her face. Don’t we all wish we could feel that pure joy again!
What do you get when cross a redneck with a surfer? See the picture above! No airbrush paint. All the work is done with pigment. Why? Because we can!
