Ben Aipa

     My earliest recollection of Ben Aipa was when I first moved back to Hawaii from El Paso, Texas in 1990 and I got my first job working in the surf industry for Town & Country Surf. At that time Ben Aipa was the premiere shaper for T&C  and probably in all of Hawaii. I remember all the Japanese surfers coming in and asking for Ben's boards and all the locals putting their name on a long list to get a custom shape from the man himself.

        Ben's signature "Stinger" shapes.

After a long tenure with T&C, Ben went over to Blue Hawaii Surf to work along side probably the most talented shaping stable in Hawaii. Glenn Minami, Cino Magnallenes, Wes Oshiro, and Ernie Tanaka. Ben's son Akila was also at Blue Hawaii Surf at the same time but as one of BH's top pro surfers. It was a good time for Blue Hawaii Surf back then when it came to surf. They were a force to be reckoned with.

                       Aipa SUP's

     Aside from shaping Ben is also a renowned surf coach who's worked with some of the top surfers in the world. His most recognized student was Brad Gerlach who came in 2nd place in the world in the early 90's. Currently he is coaching Koa and Alex Smith from Kauai. While Ben was giving us a brief history lesson he was also juggling calls from Alex and Koa while they were preparing for their heats in today's Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset.

     This board that Ben was shaping today was for the 50th anniversary of Bruce Brown's cult classic movie The Endless Summer. 

Mahalo Ben for the hospitality and tour!