[Timeline] History of Bill Stewart: Father of the Modern Longboard
So, how did Bill Stewart become “Father of the Modern Longboard”?
Like most surfers, the Father of the Modern Longboard started on a longboard—a 9’2” to be exact. He then rode professionally as, yep, a shortboarder. Stewart just didn’t understand why longboards at that time were so slow and couldn’t be surfed aggressively (1), so he set out to change things.
The Father of the Modern Longboard wasn’t born a great shaper. He admits his first board, shaped in Florida, was barely rideable. He took an old log, grinded down the rails, peeled off the glass, took out the blank inside to reshape it, and covered the entire thing in laminating resin.
It stuck to the sand.
There was no way Stewart could’ve known that he’d come to shape thousands of highly-customized masterpieces and the surfing industry itself.
During the shortboard revolution, when Stewart wasn’t working at a shop and repairing dings, he was cutting longboards down, experimenting with shorter surfcraft, and taking what he’d learned and then building on it. It was a lot of work, but it paid off with an invention that would change surfing.
While everyone was riding longboards with big 9-10” single fins, he put a smaller 6” center fin, along with two 3 ¼” side fins, 16” up from the tail. This, along with the super hard edges for release & speed, completely changed the performance of a longboard to ride like a shortboard—The Father of the Modern Longboard called it the Hydro Hull.
That’s when the worlds of shortboarding and longboarding collided.
Using this new shaping technology, surfers had the best of both board worlds. Longboarders could now run up to noseride, step back for a shortboard-style cut-back, and then throw it off-the-lip. This revolution took Bill international, as far as Japan, Australia, France, England, Peru, and more, to showcase its versatility. To this day it remains the design standard for modern longboards.
A revolutionary board shape isn’t the only chapter in this story. The Father of the Modern Longboard also co-founded the Futures Fins box. There are only two types of fin boxes available worldwide, and Futures was designed to be lighter, stronger, and easier to install than the competition. It’s now being used in many different surfboard brands around the world.
Bill Stewart, The Father of the Modern Longboard, continues to handcraft and customize surfboards at his namesake surf shop Stewart in San Clemente, California. To learn more about his beginnings, his unique path, and his influence throughout surfing history, check out the timeline below.
1951
Bill Stewart is born then starts experimenting with water dynamics during his childhood by towing anything & everything behind a neighbor’s boat on the lake he grew up on in Florida.
1964
At age 12, Bill surfs for the first time and contracts the surfing bug.
1965
Bill mows 32 lawns for $1 each to buy his first surfboard.
1967
The Father of the Modern Longboard shapes his first board!
1970
Bill pays his dues in high school, buys a 1963 Ford van for 500 bucks, and takes off for California where he lands in Encinitas, CA, and can now live to surf!
1971
..well, not quite. Bill runs out of money pretty quick and moves home in order to save some cash working construction and taking art classes at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
1972
A year later, with some savings under his belt, Bill can live to surf for real this time! He moves back to CA, to San Clemente (his dream location), and gets his first job in the surf industry. He polishes, sands, and airbrushes boards at Rick James’ surfboard factory, while learning everything he can about shaping. The Father of the Modern Longboard will go on to work for Ocean Pacific, South Shore, and then Hobie.
1977
Behold—the Stewart Surfboards label is born in Laguna Beach! Bill begins as a one-man-band and manages everything from hand-painting and taking custom orders to selling air-brushed merchandise.
1978
Bill launches his own company “Stewart Surfboards” in the alley of broken dreams in Dana Point—although it doesn’t sound promising, he’ll continue to impact the surfing world through handcrafted boards, custom artwork, and surf contests for the next 42+ years to come.
1984
Bill invents the HydroHull, which takes his brand international and remains a design standard for the modern longboard to this day.
1985
Bill flies to Japan to introduce the Hydro Hull technology and modern longboard design to the country for the first time.
1996
Bill co-creates the Futures Fin box system.
2019
The Father of the Modern Longboard, Bill Stewart, continues to handcraft and customize both short and longboards at his shop Stewart in San Clemente, CA. 42+ years later, the legacy continues and carries on through the families Stewart raised on surfing.
FINAL WORDS
The Father of the Modern Longboard made surfing one big family again—from longboarders, to shortboarders, to athletes, and artists, and anyone who wants to surf.
According to Stewart, the modern longboard isn’t necessarily minimalistic, or a retro longboard, or more trendy—it’s designed to meet you on the level you’re at to become a better surfer.
Bill Stewart believes that anyone can surf, and that everyone should. He uses the latest surf technology and innovation to up your surfing game to where you want it to be.