Ben Aipa, legendary surfer and shaping icon, dies at 78

On January 15, 2021, Ben Aipa passed away due to complications from a recent stroke and Alzheimer’s Diseases. He was 78 years old.

As detailed on AipaSurf.com, Ben Aipa has made a most significant mark in the world of surfing: making the board that fellow Hawaiian Fred Hemmings used to win the World Championship in 1968 and founded his own brand Aipa Surfboards in 1970. Ben invented the doubled-edged swallowtail design in 1972 and followed this with the split-tail design in 1974. Moreover, Ben has served as an informal coach and trainer to such top surfers as Michael Ho, Larry Bertleman, Mark Liddell, Sunny Garcia, Brad Gerlach, and Kalani Robb.

Ben Aipa continued to enter and compete in various surfing contests: He won the grandmasters division of the 1989 United States Surfing Championship and the legends division of the 2000 U.S. Championships. Inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in 1992, Ben was named one of the Top Ten Shapers of All-Time by Surfing magazine in 2004.

“I’ll remember my dad as a father, surfer, shaper, designer, athlete, friend, mentor and a grandfather. Thank you for loving and mentoring so many generations of surfers in competition, and most importantly life. Your contributions to our sport and industry leaves a legacy with everyone you were able to share with, help and inpsire.” - Akila Aipa

“A humble colossus whose impact echoed thru the decades… masterfully mentoring generations of champions… in and out of the water… in competition and lie… and somehow in all this… finding the time to stoke out tens of thousands of surfers wit the best shaped board all around the world along the way…” - Duke Aipa