The introduction of the thruster is typically the first design element we think of when talking about groundbreaking moments in the evolution of surfboards. But it seems the more we focus on those three fins the less we give deserved praise to the fish – a shape that changed what we know is possible. It wasn’t too long ago the surf world was obsessed with the thin and narrow, leaving no room for the stubby, short, flat things many scoffed at. Rob Machado says writing off the fish led to about 95 percent of surfers riding the wrong equipment in the 90’s. But Mark Richards says the fish single handedly changed his life.
And eventually we all came around. For guys like Donavon Frankenreiter and Dave Rastovich, two surfers whose style have become almost synonymous with those throwbacks, the fish changed their entire perspective of changing waves. So why and how did the fish fall out of favor? And how the hell did we become so obsessed with it years later? From what we can tell, Fish looks like a pretty enlightening take on how the shape of a board has impacted our entire culture.
