Every now and then, a really, really good idea falls through the cracks. For one reason or another, the general public misses it. Such is the case with the bonzer. Back in the ’70s, the Campbell brothers created the bonzer. Although it was ridden by a few top pros at the time (and ridden very well, for that matter), it just didn’t catch on. Looking back, it was probably a little too far ahead of its time.
It’s a complicated design, those bonzers. Heavy concaves and weird fins set ups weren’t exactly what people were looking for in a surfboard at the time. Then, over the next few decades, a bunch of little things happened on different surfboards that that bonzer had basically already done. The early ’80s was the thruster era, thanks to Simon Anderson, and the late ’80s was a time of single to double concave. While bonzers pretty much had both of those locked down, they didn’t get the credit they deserve.
Surfing, though, has changed. Bonzers aren’t made for the kind of high-performance surfing we’re seeing today. But there’s really only a handful of people in the world that are surfing like that, anyway, so why not give something else a shot? Bonzers are meant to be put on rail. They’re meant to be ridden off the tail. They’re perfect for power surfing; locking in the tail and gouging out a big turn.
Now, in an era of “try anything”, Jack Lynch is trying anything. And he is doing amazing things on a bonzer. The boards he’s riding in the clip above are hand shaped by the legendary Campbell brothers, and Jack Coleman was along to document the ride.
