++ Hynson Surfboards ++

Mike Hynson is the swaggering American co-star of the 1966 crossover hit "The Endless Summer," and creator of the popular Gordon and Smith produced "Red Fin" signature model board. Hynson is now a celebrated and world-renown surfboard shaper/designer, working from his beachside studio in San Diego, California; Born in 1942, Hynson's family moved to San Diego's Pacific Beach, in the mid 50's, where he began surfing in earnest.
Graceful and stylish, Hynson rapidly rose through the ranks to become one of the area's finest surfers. When visiting Hawaii for the first time in late 1961, Hynson's incomparable skill enabled him to be one of the first to ride the infamous "Pipeline" on the North Shore of the island of Oahu. Two years later, filmmaker Bruce Brown asked Hynson to star in his new film, "The Endless Summer." This gig required Hynson to travel the globe chasing summer and the perfect wave.

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Because he was anxious to avoid the draft, Hynson jumped at the chance. The blond Hynson , a regular foot, was paired with dark haired goofyfooter Robert August. Together with Brown, the two young surfers visited Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii. Hynson's surfing skills and unique style made the movie a cult classic that is still revered to this day. No one who has seen the film can possibly forget Hynson's sublime first ride at Cape St. Francis; that prefect right point-break he discovered in South Africa. This was the film's high point; its answer to "the search for the perfect wave." Hynson was appreciated for his graceful and elegant approach to the sport. He made it look easy, and everyone that saw him surf wanted emulate his style. Mike became a commercial surfboard shaper in 1959, and became a star on Hobie Surfboard's shaping roster in 1963.

After returning from his Endless Summer adventures, he moved to Gordon and Smith Surfboards, and soon released the tri-stringer Hynson Model, a signature board later known as the "red fin" for it's distinctive blood-red skeg. Many of the world's best surfers ride Hynson boards, including Billy Hamilton, Barry Kanaiaupuni, Butch Van Artsdalen, and Herbie Fletcher. Hynson also designed and built the HY-1 and HY-2 models for Gordon and Smith, helped develop the control-enhancing "tucked-under edge" surfboard rail in the late '60's, and created the DolFin in 1973, a popular fin design patterned after a dolphin's dorsal fin.

Mike Hynson is now creating one-of-a-kind masterpieces under his own label, "Hynson and Company." Mike is a master craftsman whose attention to detail truly sets him apart. From balsa to foam, Hynson's boards are coveted the world over. A Hynson Board is the ideal brush for the surf's watery canvas. Own a piece of surfing history today.