A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Tall, leathery, plainspoken surfboard builder from Santa Barbara, California, and an early proponent of EPS/epoxy resin boards; described by surf writer Sam George as "the King of the Ranch, the local's local, and one of the best surfboard shaper-designers in the world."

Bradbury was born in 1944, began surfing in the mid-'50s, worked in the Yater Surfboards factory in the early '60s, where he was informally mentored by Rennie Yater. In 1968, Bradbury began making boards on his own Creative Freedom Surfboards label, working out of a small shop in nearby Goleta. Bradbury's calling card in the late '60s and '70s was the stripped-down and perfectly balanced California pointbreak gun.

Bradbury was virtually unheard of outside of the Santa Barbara area until 1985, when he made an ultralight EPS/epoxy resin board for future world champion Martin Potter—virtually all boards at the time consisted of polyurethane foam and polyester resin—who immediately rode it to victory in a world pro tour event. Other top pros, including Brad Gerlach and Cheyne Horan, among others, also began riding Bradbury epoxies while in California.

Boardcrafting skills aside, Bradbury was unique among his peers in the way he continued to work as a one-man show. His output was low, and he made each board start to finish in his small backyard factory. He didn't advertised or make the rounds at surfing trade shows. In his hometown, Bradbury was known for tooling around in an immaculate 1955 sea-blue Porsche 356 Continental, with a tiny dog in the passenger seat.

Bradbury died of leukemia in 1999 at age 55, almost certainly contracted from decades' worth of exposure to toxic boardmaking materials.

Bradbury, John

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

The Sunday Joint

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

The Sunday Joint