Murphy, Matthew "Spider" (1947 – )
Quiet and diligent surfboard shaper from Durban, South Africa; best remembered for providing the mid-1970s boards upon which fellow Durbanite Shaun Tomson reinvented both frontside and backside tuberiding. "If Spider had lived in the United States," Tomson later said, "he'd have been recognized as the top shaper in the world."
Murphy was born (1947) and raised in Durban, began surfing at age 12 on a small wooden paipo board, and started shaping at 16, mostly out of frustration that the board...