Text by Ted Rich
Photo courtesy of MB Fine Art, Leroy Grannis
Compared to many of his counterparts who built surfboards in the
'60s, Constantine "Con" Colburn could almost be considered a senior
citizen when he started surfing in 1956 at the age of 22. A very savvy
young businessman, Con quickly recognized the growth potential of the
surf industry and opened his first shop in Santa Monica, California in
1958. Called the Surf House, it was originally a ding repair shop. By
1959, Con had changed the name of his business to Con Surfboards and
operated three retail locations.
Con Colburn may not have been known for his surfing prowess,
but he made significant contributions to the sport as a products
innovator. Along with his Con Surfboards business, he also started
ConTrol Products, a company dedicated to developing new surfing
products. Between 1966 and 1971, ConTrol introduced such products as a
floating removable fin system, a surfboard traction spray and the first
commercially produced surf leash (called the Power Cord). Many of you
may remember Slipcheck, the original traction aerosol developed by Tom
Morey in 1965. Also, it was Pat O'Neill, Jack's son, who is credited
with inventing the modern surf leash--even though Tom Blake
experimented with a cord made of cotton rope back in the mid-1930s. But
it was Con Colburn who actually began marketing a version of it
commercially in late 1971. Con also is credited with inventing and
introducing the leash plug during the same year; after other methods of
attaching early leashes failed, Con's plug remains essentially
unchanged from his original design.
Con Surfboards is probably best remembered for two models that
had become extremely popular by 1967--the aptly-named "Ugly" and the
"C.C. Rider." The blunt-nosed "Ugly" was introduced in response to the
noseriding craze that was happening at the time, and since East Coast
champion Claude Codgen designed the C.C. Rider, this popular signature
model helped capture the growing East Coast market.
By the late 1970s, Con Surfboards had all but faded into
surfing history. In 1988, Con retired to Bishop, California, a small
resort community in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains, where he died
just four years later at the age of 57. Then, in 1996, seasoned
surfboard shaper Bruce Grant bought the Con Surfboards name. He has
since worked to revive the once-popular name and is producing "The
Ugly," the "Super Ugly" and the "C.C. Rider," along with a line of
modern longboards, fun shapes and shortboard designs. In 2004, the
factory and showroom was moved to its present location near Manhattan
Beach, California. Check out the Con website at www.consurfboards.com.
Check out more classic shop biographies at http://www.lastwave.com/legends/
