Ben Aipa and The Birth of the Sting

Ben Aipa invented the swallow tail in 1971, and As time progressed, thru watching his team riders, he saw something was missing in their boards and was looking for that design ingredient that would allow them to push the performance limits further.. In 1974 Ben went to a boat race on Oahu. He noticed there…

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Duke Aipa Q&A

Duke Aipa Q&A: The youngest son of storied Ben Aipa, Duke is a master innovator and shaper. Duke Aipa spent as much time playing with foam as he did toy-cars growing up, in and out of his father’s shaping bay. He is the youngest son of storied Ben Aipa, master innovator, and shaper. Born on…

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AIPA X Dark Arts Collab

Duke Aipa spent as much time playing with foam as he did toy-cars growing up, in and out of his father’s shaping bay. He is the youngest son of storied Ben Aipa, master innovator, and shaper. Born on Oahu, carrying the torch for a bloodline of board builders is a calling that Duke has gladly…

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AIPA X Lightning Bolt

When two powerful Hawaiian surfboard signatures that are pivotal to surfing and have made outstanding contributions to the rich history of Hawaii’s ocean culture meet… We are honored and humbled to announce the new Lightning Bolt x AIPA Surfboards’ collaboration, as a tribute to the life and work of our founders. As a result, we’ll…

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Pro Shaper Profile: Ben Aipa (Fiberglass Hawaii)

Duke Kahanamoku, Eddie Aikau, and Ben Aipa are all Hawaiian legends in their own right. Although two of those legends are no longer with us, we are fortunate enough to still have Ben Aipa who is surfing, shaping and having as much fun now as when he first picked up a planer. Ben and Ted…

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Sting Like Ben (Surfers Journal)

When I last visited “Burly Ben Aipa” in his modest Honolulu shaping room he was just about to field a call from a “Surfer Joe.” The phone was resting on a nine-foot Sting longboard that had been laid out on the racks. Aipa, the Hawaiian master surfer/shaper, answered in an unassuming voice—he might have been…

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LEGENDS / BEN AIPA (By Free Surf Magazine)

If I told you that the swallowtail surfboard design – yes, the same shape of board that you surf on regularly at Kewalos and Bowls – was inspired by the fluttering of a bird, would you believe me? As it turns out, watching the turning ability of a swallowtail bird is exactly how Ben Aipa…

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