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Zippi
Facts
Where and when born:
Los Angeles 1945
Marital status:
Single
How many years have you been surfing:
46
Contusions, abrasions or other surfing related
injuries?
Major neck problems from going over the falls in sizeable
surf (El Porto and Hermosa) and hitting the sand bar.
Also some reocurring knee problems.
Years shaping:
Since 1960
Other interests:
Shaping, shaping, surfing, and shaping
Unfortunately, I don’t get to surf as much as
I used to.
Favorite place to travel:
Hawaiian Islands
One of your favorite breaks...
Lahaina Harbor
Most memorable Surf Session...
I had a beautiful 9’ Bing signature gun, shaped
by the late Dan Bendickson hanging on my wall. Bing
told me that I had to ride the board at least once.
One winter morning, Hag’s was giant with 12’
to 15’ faces and a heavy offshore wind. I went
home, pulled down my gun, waxed it up and headed back.
What made this day special was catching the biggest
waves of my life, and being the only one out that day
with the prefect board for those conditions. That board
is back on my wall with not a scratch, fracture, or
pressure ding which was also pretty miraculous.
Words of wisdom:
Surfing is all about Stoke and Harmony. We need to get
back to Soul surfing and away from the aggro mentality
& projection of bad vibes.
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If you needed open heart surgery, would you have a Podiatrist
perform the operation? Like Medicine, Surfboard design
and manufacturing is an art form, but also an extremely
broad field. It’s Foam Surgeons are specialists
in their own right although possessing varying degrees
of experience. With more choices than ever, it has become
increasingly difficult find that truly “Magical”
board.
Long board? Short Board? Single fin? Twinnie? Thruster?
Quad? Custom shaped? Chinese Import? These are just
a few considerations that surfboard buyers must now
face when deciding it is time for a new stick. The South
Bay probably has more legendary surfboard shapers per
capita than anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, our
waves are mediocre, more often than not. For many, the
best solution for summer months is a long board. For
those who want a bit more excitement in their life,
consider a Zippi Fish. Michael Zippi has been shaping
since 1968 and has taken the legendary Fish design into
the 21st century.
Mike Zippi has broken the fish down to a science. What
was once thought of as a board fad is now being turned
into a functional high performance board. What used
to be a fat bellied bottom, with cumbersome rails, and
unnecessarily deep swallow tail, Zippi has honed into
a speedy wave magnet. These features allow his fish
to fill a niche within the board market for a high performance
fish that excels not only in small surf but also in
larger hollow waves.
Today, prominent locals like Ted Robinson and Jeff Phillips
are regulars on a Zippifish. Jeff Phillips has claimed
that his Zippifish is solid not only riding in the pocket
but in waves as big as ten feet! Most other fish are
notorious for being squirrely in larger waves and for
being too loose for pocket rides. The wider tail helps
the board draw nice long lines and more importantly
keeps the tail above water.
................................................................................................
I recently caught up with Michael Zippi who does for
Fishes what Tyler Hatzikian has done for Traditional
Long boards. I asked him the following questions…
Question:
Why exclusively manufacture a design that was first
introduced over 35 years ago?
Answer:
“In the late sixties/early seventies surfing was
more fun, and all about the glide and that great flowing
feeling. The fish shape worked just like a long board
catching small gutless surf. It was lightning fast and
felt like a skateboard allowing surfers to actually
catch and make waves they previously couldn’t.
There were some limitations with the original fish design
making it spin out in larger, top-to-bottom surf.. I
pulled in the tail, tweaked the rails, and developed
special fins. On our Ultra High Performance model, I
added a special slot-like channel in the bottom to make
roundhouse turns smoother and more effortless.”
Question:
What makes your boards more fun to ride than a traditional
thruster.
Answer:
“To put it technically, it’s all about Volume
and Water Tension. If you dropped a 2”x 4”
in the ocean, its dimensions would allow it to float
about 2 inches under water. If you dropped a wide sheet
of plywood in the ocean, a good part of it will be floating
above water level. Volume is what gives the incredible
floatation. In conjunction with water tension, it allows
riders to go substantially shorter in length than a
traditional thruster shape and get that fun skateboard-like
feeling. Fishes have always been fun to ride from day
one. Unlike the original Fish though, our modifications
have made it possible to ride these boards in well overhead
top-to-bottom conditions with amazing control. Thrusters
have their place in powerful open ocean island conditions.
For typical South Bay conditions, it is all about catching
more waves, making ones you never used to, and having
as much fun as possible.
Question
How did the Clark Foam Fiasco effected your business?
Have you gone Epoxy?
Answer:
While I was working with Hap Jacobs, I did contact SurfTech
about introducing a Fish to their line up, but they
viewed it as a fad at the time and were not very interested.
Since then, I have experimented with epoxy boards but
have concluded that nothing beats a good polyester foam
blank. Recently, I have been getting Blanks from Just
Foam and have found their quality to be exceptional.
I was expecting to make 500 boards this year BC (Before
Clark).
Question:
Glassed in Fins versus Removable? What do you recommend
for your boards?
Answer:
They both have their place. For Glassed in fins, we
use Fiber Glass Fin Company Fins. As for those who travel
and/or prefer removable fins, LockBox & Rainbow
Fins are great. Both are made specifically for my boards
and work and hold up great.
Question:
What is the process to buy a Zippi Fish?
Answer:
“Several options are available. Z.J. Boarding
House, Freedom Surf, ET Surf, Huntington Surf and Sport
and Icons of Surf are all authorized Zippi Fish Dealers.
About 25% of our business is local surfers who have
tried a friend’s board and want to get one. South
Bay surfers can even make an appointment to borrow a
board for a test ride.
Go to www.zippifish.com
for more details.
Story by Joel Saltzman
& Charlie Garupa
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