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Mike
Zippy |
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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.
................................................................................................
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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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