Steve Boehne has never been afraid to embrace change in the surf culture.
While many surfboard shapers cringe at the thought of changing their designs, Boehne, the founder of Infinity Surfboard, always has been one to quickly jump on trends.
When sailing catamarans became popular in the 70s, he made boats. As windsurfing became hot in the 80s, he designed and sold surfboards with sails attached. Kayaks and surf skis came onto the scene, and he started making those.
And in the early days of stand-up paddle, he had no problem transitioning to shaping those boards, despite a kick-back from traditional surfers who thought the sport would never catch on. The bigger boards weren’t much unlike the beasty boards he used to build when he and wife Barrie were the top tandem surfers in the world during the 70s.
Boehne will be honored Saturday at the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame at Doheny State Beach, an event that pays tribute to the craftsmen who have built the boards, allowing the masses of surfers who caught on to ride waves.
Boehne started surfing in 1959 in the South Bay at spots like Torrance Beach and Palos Verdes Cove. After shaping his first board by age 13, he built about a hundred boards in his garage until 1968, when he went to work for Gordie Surfboards. When the shortboard revolution hit in the late 60s, Boehne was quick to pick up on the trend, shaping about 50 boards a week for several Huntington Beach shops.
For a while, his label was “Surfboards by Steve,” he said.
“I had completely forgot about that, and not too long ago someone brought one to me,” he said.
But while drinking some beers with friends, the logo and name for Infinity was born. The first Infinity Surfboard was shaped in 1970; it was a 7-foot balsa wood with a single fin. A simple “#1” was printed on the tail of the board. He married Barrie in 1971, and they opened up the first Infinity Surf Shop in Huntington Beach, according to the company’s website.
In the first 20 years of business, he personally shaped more than 500 boards each year. To this day, he still shapes about 400 boards a year.
Boehne and Barrie also made a name for themselves in the world of tandem surfing, a niche style of surfing that they mastered through the years. They competed around the world for 30 years, and won more contests than any other tandem team in history.
Since he started Infinity Surfboards, Boehne and his crew have produced more than 40,000 surfboards.
The business has had its ups and downs through the years, but has been able to weather economic challenges and changes in the market. His head-shaper recently retired to Mexico, and in tougher years he’s had to tighten his staff – meaning Boehne is back in the shaping bay more than ever.
Both of his sons, David and Dan, help design boards and run the shop. Barrie keeps the books.
“It’s a family business, we really all compliment each other,” he said.
Boehne expects to be in the surf business a long time.
“One thing about surfing, it just seems like it just always keeps going,” he said. “Sometimes it has its ups and downs, the waves are free and the surfboards are pretty inexpensive, and there’s always a new crop of people wanting to do it.”
Boehne won’t stop creating cool, innovative products. On any given day, he can be found cruising around the harbor on the “quadnundrum,” a stand-up board that holds four people.
Boehne is happiest when he’s in the shaping room, away from the business side of the surf industry. But getting recognition at the Surfboard Builder sheds light on what surfboard builders do behind the scenes.
“It’s really neat for me and the other shapers who really put a lot of lonely, solitary hours in a shaping room to get recognized for what they can do,” he said.
The Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame was created 15 years ago by Huntington Beach surfers Bob “The Greek” Bolen and friend Mike “Mickey Rat” Ester to honor builders for their contributions to the sport.
The first Hall of Fame inductee was Bill Holden, and from there, many iconic surfers like Mickey Munoz, Jack O’Neill, and Dale Velzy have graced the list. Each living inductee picks a fellow builder to be honored the following year.
“These are the guys that made the culture happen. These are the guys who took time out of their lives to learn how to build that surfboard and dedicated their lives to building them,” said Bolen in a past article. “Without those guys, you wouldn’t have an industry, you wouldn’t have a sport.”
Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com
