A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Behind-the-scenes Australian surfboard industry pioneer from Manly Beach, New South Wales; founder of Bennett Surfboards, the country's oldest board manufacturer, and a longtime Aussie-wide supplier of boardmaking materials. "Bennett," the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame noted, "has given the sometimes wayward, boom-and-bust Aussie surfboard industry an incredible amount of support."

Bennett was born (1931) in Sydney, raised in the coastal suburb of Bronte, began surfing at age 15, and made his first board—a 15-foot plywood "toothpick"—the following year. In 1956, a group of visiting California surfer-lifeguards, including Greg Noll and Tom Zahn, introduced Australia to the easy-to-turn balsa-core Malibu board. Bennett Surfboards opened just a few months later, and soon became one of the country's leading boardmakers. (Prior to that, he spent eight years working as an electrician.)

Expanding his reach and influence, Bennett founded Dion Chemicals in 1962 and began manufacturing polyurethane foam surfboard blanks, as well as importing high-quality resins for use in board construction. Scott Dillon, Gordon Woods and the rest of the "Brookvale Six" who made up almost the entirety of the Sydney-based boardmaking industry, all purchased blanks from Bennett's company. As Hot Buttered Surfboards founder Terry Fitzgerald put it, "We—the collective industry—could not have survived without him. Barry is our Rock of Gibraltar."

Bennett Surfboards, meanwhile, continued to do well. Bob McTavish and Geoff McCoy are among the many marquee shapers who worked for Bennett. The business came to a temporary halt in 1972 when an electrical fault sent the entire Bennett factory up in flames.

In 1992, Bennett was listed as one of Australia's "50 Most Influential Surfers" by 

 magazine; in 2009, he was inducted into the International Surfboard Builders Hall of Fame; in 2016, he was inducted to the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame.

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint