Donald Takayama Paddleout-Skip Frye Eulogizes his friend Donald

Skip Frye spoke of his relationship with Donald Takayama and the impact that Donald had not only on his life, but the life of others in the surfing community, and the surfing community itself.

Donald Takayama Paddle Out- Nephew Michael Takayama Celebrates DT's Life

Ode to Donald Takayama

In the 3rd grade at Star View School, I befriended a pudgy Hawaiian menehune named Michael Takayama, (who I affectionately called "Coconut hair" back then). We met on the playground where (as Michael remembers it) I asked him if he wanted to be friends. He was wearing an Aloha shirt and white pants. And we became friends that day. Later that week, he introduced me to gummy bears. Now back in the 1970s, gummy bears came from Germany and they were a rare treat that I never had before. I had a pouch drink called a Poke'm, which was basically a green colored drink in a plastic bag that you poked with a straw and drank. I traded him the Poke'm for a bag of the gummy bears.

During Library Day, Michael and I went to the library at Star View and Michael used the Dewey Decimal catalog cards to find a book titled "The In Sport." In that book, was a listing on Donald Takayama and his contest accomplishments in the world of surfing. "Who is he?" I asked Michael, and Michael replied, "He's my uncle." That was the first I heard of the surfer Donald Takayama. Now at the time I didn't really understand what surfing was and didn't actually see someone surf until 5th grade when we went on an end of the school year field trip to Huntington Beach. It was then that I saw Michael paddle out on a surfboard and attempt to catch some waves in front of Tower 3 in HB. It was blown out and windy and I watched Michael stand up and then fall, then do it again. He was the only surfer at Star View.

It wasn't until the 7th grade at Vista View school that Michael got me into surfing. He taught our friend Bill how to surf and Bill in turn took me out on my first surf session. We had fun at Brookhurst St. in HB and I got hooked. Bill, Michael, myself, and several others spent many days surfing Brookhurst, messing around and doing things that junior high kids do. Paddling out in monstrous walled out unsurfable Brookhurst because we didn't know any better to surf the RJs. Paddling out in fluorescent green weird water. Burning a huge dead bird in a fire pit. (Big mistake, that think stank the air). Eating at Massimo's Pizza. Hanging with Michael's older brother Larry. Seeing Guy riding a longboard wearing an all black wetsuit.

In the 11th grade I finally got to meet Donald. Bill, Michael and I went down to the factory in Oceanside and we filled out papers for custom boards. This was around 1984. "Two weeks." Donald said. Well, that two weeks turned into two months, then three months, until finally we went down again to see what was up. Our boards weren't even started. So Donald, who at the time had longish hair, took us into the shaping bay and proceeded to shape our boards. We watched as he mowed the foam and got three safety nose thrusters all rough shaped. Several hours later we saw our boards fine tuned. "Two weeks" Donald said as he left left the shaping bay. I was totally stoked to see Donald in action. I'll never forget watching him with the planer. At the time, to me, he was just Donald Takayama, uncle to my childhood friend Michael Takayama. It wasn't until I stopped riding thrusters and jumped onto a longboard did I really find out what Donald had accomplished before we were even born. All the stories that Michael told me when we were small kids, how DT named velzyland after Dale Velzy, how DT shaped the best boards of the era. . . It all came to light as I began riding Takayama surfboards again.

Everyone knows the story, Uncle Donald comes to California as a boy of 12, already an accomplished shaper, and works under the tutelage of Dale Velzy. He then proceeds to work as a hired gun at the factories of other shapers, designing for them what would arguably become the best boards in their stable of boards, and the best boards of the era; The Jacobs Takayama Model, the David Nuuhiwa Noserider, The Weber Performer ( of which he and Iggy fine tuned) and the list goes on.

I got to hang with Donald a few times at the shop as Michael and I would stop by after a surf, and proceed to laugh so hard my ribs would hurt. Stop and say hi when he would be out early in the van checking the North jetty. I was fortunate to experience even just the little things that made Donald, Donald. Sharing bars of chocolate in the retail store. Totally approachable. Totally cool. Da best of da best. I am fortunate to have surfed with Donald a few times and am fortunate to have met him and his wife Sid, all via my third grade friend, Coconut Hair. The surfing world has lost a legend. Arguably the most innovative surfboard designer ever, Donald Takayama is the legend of all legends. He will be sorely missed.

Blackies kook. . . In and outta da watah

I was at Blackies for the annual 4th of July parking fest fiasco. I wanted to see all the mayhem going on. I got there early and surfed micro waves with my friend Kevin but had to go home early, so I got out of the water at around 8 a.m. Sure enough there were cars circling, all manner of people asking if I was leaving. I said no, and proceeded to change, put the board away etc. I happened on another Blackies local who I never spoke to at all in the last 12 years I've surfed that spot. He rides a Dano log but wears a leash most of the time. I've seen him out in the water plenty times. I just never talked to him until the 4th of July 2012. Through talking with him I found out he is a Mercedes mechanic who after 19 years with FJ Mercedes (and Jim Slemons before that) opened his own garage in Costa Mesa. We were chatting it up with another guy when yet another Blackies local came up and started talking to the mechanic. They knew each other because the other Blackies local took his black wagon to him for repairs. At the end of their conversation, the guy with the wagon said to the mechanic, "Well let me know if you want to move your car into my space. I'd give it up but there are no WHITE people circling the lot." Was I surprised that this clown said this? Not really. I've been surfing Blackies since I moved back from Hawaii, and I've seen the guy around. He surfs every once in a while. I've never had a problem with him, though I've never acknowledged him, nor him I, not even when he stopped to talk to the mechanic. I was invisible to him when he made that comment. I never really cared for the guy for some reason, and now I know why. He is a kook, no matter how local he thinks he is. I would love to see him out at Bowls one day, which for the most part is a SEA of brown skinned people, and try and pull that WHITE crap in the Bowls parking lot. This clown is not worthy of the sport of kings.

Takayama DT-1 Review Part 2

The DT-1 is a keeper. After more than six months riding the board, I feel I've got a decent handle on the board.
1. It rides well in punchy beachbreak and reef breaks.
2. It doesn't ride well in mushy surf
3. It is a nice section connector
4. It is fast
5. It might do well at Salt Cfreek, but I haven't ridden it there yet
7. It has a narrow nose.
8. Ive got a Guy Takayama Orca 8-inch fin in the box right now. I've experienced near spinouts on cutbacks, but that might just be due to the fin so far up in the box. I'll pull the fin back a few inches to get a better guage on how it responds with the board next time Church is overhead
My friend Trace watched me nearly spin out on a cutback on an overhead wave at Church. I recovered and completed the turn, but felt the tail area a bit too loosely. Fin adjustment should fix that.

Progress Project recycled Longboard bag

Progress Project Longboard bag 
Boardbag built with Upcycled materials--Made in AMERICA

For most of my life, I have been a fan of products made in America. This affinity for such things can be attributed to the fact that when growing up, when I bought something, the first thing my father would ask me was where it was made. He has always been this way because America gave so much to him as he worked his entire life for America. Which brings me to my latest purchase. A Progress Project Longboard bag. After acquiring a Takayama DT1, I needed a board bag for it. At first I swapped out my Scorpion and used its board bag, an Ocean Earth Global Travel Series bag, which is a decent bag. But that was just a temporary solution because it was a tight fit, give the DT1 was a 9'2" and the bag was a 9'0". So I did the next thing, I went to the local surf shops to see what was in store. Now I don't go into the local shops all too often, because I don't wear surf clothes, just not my style. But for the board bag, I went. And I was sorta shocked with what I saw. Virtually everything that I looked at was made in China, from the leashes to the traction to the board bags. I went to at least six shops, from the megashops such as Jacks and HSS in HB, to the Frog House in Newps. They all carried the same usual suspects, Destination, Dakine, Ocean Earth, Prolite, FCS. But none that really were inspiring. In fact, they all looked sorta the same with a different logo slapped on them. Probably because they were all made in the same factory in China. I wasn't impressed at all with the bags, especially the Dakine bags, they have turned into garbage. I have a 10'0" Dakine board bag, silver material, super strong zipper, made in Oregon, USA. And what I saw at the stores were garbage. tarpaulin material is really garbage that doesn't really protect your board.

The recycled material had previously been a banner for a surf contest in San Diego.

The first thing I did upon the bag's arrival was to check the stitching and the material

The expandable tail section is done without the use of zippers, unlike my Ocean Earth bag, which has a blown zipper.

The finslot also has a YKK zipper. Not sure why board bags even have zippers or velcro at the finslot.

So I searched on the Internet for a bag; eBay, Craigslist, no company had what I wanted at a reasonable price, a decent bag, non-tarpaulin material, made in USA. The surf industry jumped on the cheapest at all cost bandwagon and sent manufacturing to China. I then came across a company called Midnight Products in Garden Grove. It makes a decent looking boardbag right in Garden Grove. You could customize it based on your preference, bare bones, day bag, travel bag. I then came across another company called WaveTribe, and they had a hemp based bag, made in America. I emailed WaveTribe, and their available hemp bags were 10'0" at the time, too big for the 9'2" but the guy there, Derek, turned me on to the Progress Project bag. Progress Project is based out of Encinitas, CA and uses used billboard material to build a fairly killer board bag. They call the process upcycling, because the billboard material cannot be recycled, and the only thing that you can do with it is throw it away, use it as cover on farm crops, or repurpose the PVC material into something else. Progress Project decided to build a better boardbag (among other things) with this material, right in Encinitas, CA. I ordered the bag on Dec. 10, and wondered how it would turn out, what the PVC material was like, I had no clue. I sent Progress Project owner Noah Johnson my dimensions, explaining to him that my board wasn't a noserider (as most of the board bags on the market in this size are designed for noseriders). I also explained that the board had glass on side fins. I sent the dimensions in and waited. I then got an email about three weeks later with a photo of the bag and was told it would be arrive the next day.

YKK zippers

Bag quality
Upon arrival, I pulled the bag from the box and got a cursory feel for the material. The material is heavy. I then inspected the craftsmanship, going over every stitch and observing how the bag was assembled. I was stoked with the craftsmanship. I was surprised at the weight of the bag, and am overall highly satisfied with the board bag. The problem with today's made in China boardbags is the materials used. While the major manufacturers offer polyester fabric-based bags, these bags were over the limit in which I wanted to spend, AND I don't know of one surf accessories company that uses YKK zippers. My Ocean Earth Global Travel series bag has plastic zippers, one set which is blown out due to lack of quality. And the use of tarpaulin material is a joke. I've never liked tarpaulin material because it is weak and doesn't adequately protect your board like polyester-based material. I have a 10'0" board bag that has polyester on one side and the tarpaulin material on the other. There is a rip in the tarpaulin material that has pretty much ruined the bag. The only reason that I can surmise the surf accessories companies use tarpaulin is cost. Tarpaulin is the cheapest material to foist upon a gullible surf public. The stuff reminds me of a lightly laminated potato sack. The surf accessories companies need to come up with a stronger material because spending $80-$100 for a bag that is only going to last several seasons is going to get old quick, especially given how long most people keep their longboards. But they don't care to innovate and companies such as Progress Project will step in and offer a quality product.

The Progress Project bag has several features worth noting. It has an expandable tail area to accommodate glass on fins in longboards. Johnson does this without having to add a second zipper like the Ocean Earth bag. The bag also has a tail pocket within the board bag that further envelopes the tail of the board. The zippers of course are YKK, the best in the business and the stitches are super strong, akin to the beautiful welds that you see on a finely handcrafted bicycle. You just know it when you feel it. Another notable factoid about the company is it donates a portion of its sales to environmental causes.

First Impressions
So far, so good. The bag has hit the parking lot at Blackies and has been in the fine dirt of the Sano parking lot, and aside from a few nicks caused by loading my board while the bag was on the ground, there is nothing really to write about. The white bottom tends to get dirty, but that is an indication that you are going surfing, and the bag is doing what it was intended, to protect the board. And with the cost of good longboards hitting the $1000+ mark, and even used ones going for $750, spending an Uncle Ben and some change is a wise investment to protect your board. The Progress Project longboard bag exceeds in quality any other boardbag in the $120 price range. I'll be updating this page in a few months to let you know how the bag is holding up, but I suspect it should do just fine.

9'2" Progress Project longboard bag
$130
$20 shipping
TheProgressProject.org