Actions sports and music have always had a symbiotic relationship with each reflecting the other—from the artists, rebels, and musicians being key inspiration (if not participants) in action sports themselves.
In the mid to late ‘70’s when punk took rock by storm with bands like the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Dead Boys, and The Clash, a revolution was also taking place in surfing and surfboard design with the introduction of the twin-fin board. The design was “…capable of more acute, right-angle turns, one that demanded to be ridden fast and loud and radical, with less emphasis on style and more on slash. In short, a surfboard that rode like punk music sounded,” explains Against the Grain.
Launched by Hurley and Surfer Magazine, Against the Grain is an art show of surfboards by legendary shapers and early punk rock artists that celebrate the timeframe of the mid to late ‘70’s of punk rock and the revolution of the twin fin surfboard.
A wide range of artists, including Winston Smith, Arturo Vega (the 5th Ramone), and Grammy-nominated album designer Tommy Steele, teamed up legendary shapers such as Bob Hurley, Al Merrick, and Shawn Stussy, to creating a unique landscape of storytelling through board designs. Against the Grain art show which premiered as the Action Sports Retailer Trade Show September 9-11, heads to Sydney, Australia later this month.—Kathleen Gasperini
