Hipster backlash

Craig wrote to me with a link to this interesting but somewhat confusing Craiglist ad simply listed as 'Vintage Surfboard'

"Craigslist- Vintage Surfboard.

Vintage Surfboards are like vintage computers, and have about the same value and function.

Steve Lis, Takayama, Lopez...?

You are smoking crack, but not as much as anyone who would buy such things. Are you kidding me? Far FAR better boards available now EVERYWHERE for a fraction of the cost, unless of course you are some soulless yuppie hipster who loves surfing so much that they are doing everything in their power to ruin it...

You will never EVER know how beautiful it was before your kind came along - you missed it."

The above, passionate, Craiglist poster seems to be making 2 points worth noting here on this blog.

Point 1) I understand him to say, don't buy an expensive old surfboard to surf on when there are better, more refined, cheaper surfboards readily available today.

Response 1) I have a position on this and it is as follows. It is the very fact that there are so many homogenized, production line surfboards available EVERYWHERE that makes the idea of riding a surfboard created with a pair of human hands 30+ years ago so very appealing to me. Some of the designs may be less refined than today's boards but equally some of the design features of old surfboards may well be functional but may have been overlooked by the mainstream or forced into submission by the overwhelming weight of fashion in surfboard design. The fact that so many functional innovations were cast aside when first revealed has been born out in recent years with contemporary surfers and shapers exploring historical designs with great success. Many of the recent breakthroughs in surf hardware design have come from revisiting ideas from the past rather than pushing forward in a straight line with the current wave of design thinking.

Point 2) He seems to be saying, don't plagiarize surf history for the sake of soulless yuppie fashion. Leave it alone, it was not your time, it was my time and it is very sacred to me.

Response 2) Fair enough....