Allen White of Cocoa Beach, Florida
Allen at Marbella, Costa Rica
There have been many talented surfboard shapers from the East Coast of the US through the years; and one of them is Allen White. He started in surfing, rather raft surfing at the Avalon Pier in the Outer Banks of North Carolina when he was 5 years old. Surfing was really beginning to take off on the East Coast and Allen like many kids on the Eastern Seaboard were there for the ride.
Summer Swallow ready for some air
Allen’s recalls his surfing roots were formed by a mixture of people and places. My grandparents had a cottage near the Old Avalon Pier in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I have fond memories when my mother would pick me up at the front door of school on the last day of the school year, all packed up and ready to go to spend the summer at the beach in the Outerbanks.
5' 4" Convertable
My sister had a lifeguard job at the Tanarama Motel next to the pier. I was the raft boy (gofer) over on the beach which is what afforded me to use the rafts all day. The two lifeguards, Jimmy Koneese and Jimmy Baccus who were also surfers. While on the guard stand they noted my ability on the raft & after explaining to them that I wanted to surf & had been surfing before with my neighbor (Warren Cavey) who had taught me, they extended my privileges to their boards.
5' 7" Performance Fly
Needless to say I was super stoked and took to it right away. The year was 1963 and I was the only 6 year old kid hanging around that pier surfing. Thanks to my neighbor Warren and a family friend Jimbo Ward having mounted a convincing argument to my parents for a surfboard, I finally got one for Christmas the following year. I remember it clearly; 8’6” Hobie with the old wooden D fin & ½” redwood stringer. This was my beginning to a lifelong journey that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Continuing with his story, years later at 12 yrs old, Allen ended up working as ding boy in a small factory (Eastside Surfboards) that was owned by Al & Mouse Snebblin. They also owned Al’s Surf Shop that at the time was located under the Steel Pier in Virginia Beach. He would spend many a night sleeping behind the bait box on that pier making sure he was the first guy out in the morning between the Pier & the Jetty. This was the place in VB years earlier where Allen began surfing with a close buddy Kurt Smultz. I remembered the very little Jetty at the time and the inlet would fill in making this killer kiddie break to learn on.
6' 0" Performance 2
Allen remembers during these times when he was involved with Al’s Surf Shop and competitive surfing was exploding at the time into something big. Al had purchased this old school bus that he had converted into a camper bus for a traveling surf team. Allen was fortunate to be among the group of 5 that were on that team that would load it with boards to sell and travel along the central eastern coast surfing contests scene and sell boards. He was the grom of the crew with Kim Hickman, Ray Shackelford, David Barbini, Mike Pendelton all he remembers were rippers and taught him the ropes along the way. “I grew up pretty quick during these times…it was such a great experience”.
6' 3" Florida Fish
Thru the oncoming teen years Allen worked in several local surf shops. One of which was 17th Street Surf Shop owned by Lee & Harriett Jones at the time. He got the opportunity to meet Mike Purpus there & was eventually on the Jacobs surf team. He remembers Mike would come to town at least once a year and he says he idolized him at the time and of course relates to learning the Roundhouse Cut Back from Mike at that time. “Mike was truly the very best Roundhouse Guy then.
Allen's old surf shop in VB 1983-1993 "Sea Level Surf Shop" @ 16th & Pacific
When Allen graduated from high school (1975) he and former partner Marc Bischoff open their first factory in an old house on Virginia Beach Blvd. They built two brands the first and originally “Offshore Days” then the second label being “Bearcraft Surfboards”. Shortly thereafter Les Shaw from Wave Riding Vehicles gave Allen his first shaping job. Eventually Allen started his own brand of surfboard.
Allen White @ Rodanthe, NC 1986
Seasoned Surfboards was started by Allen in 1976 and for 16 yrs until 1993 he built the label. During this time also moving to Florida (1977) and shaping for many brands (Natural Art/ Seashapes, Creative Shaping, Tabling, Dewey Weber, Shawn Thompson, Shane Horan, Quiet Flight, Salick) some of which under the contract label Raw High Performance Shapes. He also surfed competitively on the east coast pro circuit at that time. In 1993 Allen sold Seasoned Surfboards to his partner David Barnes and returned to Florida while David continued building the Seasoned Surfboard label.
Allen was influenced by the many shapers from the east coast & around the world during his travels. He has worked with and around many shapers that influenced him over the years; however he was influenced early on in Virginia Beach by guys like Kim Hickman, Don Bennett, Bill Frierson, Marty Keesucker, Ronnie Mellott, Michael Doyle, Scott Busbey (Hatteras) and then later in Florida by Pete Dooley, Greg Loehr, Richard Munson, Richard Price, Ron Roush. “I find that having just been around these guys shapes daily seemed to blend into what I build today whether it would be technique or design related. We all have our philosophy’s and systemic techniques, each of us out there have something to offer to the world of surfing or we wouldn’t be or have been there.”
Allen White
In Florida Allen still resides in Cocoa Beach with his lovely wife of 31 years and has raised two beautiful Daughters there. He started his current label “Allen White Custom Surfboards” in 1993 when he returned to Florida. So 36 years after beginning his journey shaping surfboards he’s still traditionally hand carving premium custom surfboards one at a time in Cocoa Beach Florida.
WEBSITE: ALLEN WHITE SURFBOARDS
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