Who is Ben Skinner? Skindog Surfboards

Introducing Ben “Skindog” Skinner

Once in awhile, top-level athletes and influencers sneak under the radar, whether due to their geographical location, a lack of desire for self-promotion, or any number of other factors. But it is only a matter of time until talent and style catch up with them, and eventually, the world knows who they are.

Early Life and Rise to Fame

Ben “Skindog” Skinner is one such athlete. A surfer and shaper from Cornwall, England, Skinner originally grew up on the island of Jersey, located between England and France. Not a lot of people know where that is, so surfers from the island don’t exactly get a lot of press. But by the age of 13 Skinner had two British shortboard titles to his name, and by 18 he had won every category in every major British longboard event. With that sort of success in his back pocket, it was only a matter of time before notoriety came knocking.

Skinner ended up getting the support of major sponsors, and eventually expanded his growing media following into a market for his newest passion—shaping. Now one of the UK’s top surfer/shapers, and a renowned style master on a longboard, Skinner has gone international, traveling extensively and selling boards all over the world.

Career and Achievements

In addition, Skinner is part of the Thunderbolt Technology, the ultra-progressive, high-tech surfboard construction company led by Yu San. Thunderbolt collaborates with leading surfer/shapers such as CJ Nelson and Harley Ingleby, and blends traditional curves wit futuristic technology to make some of the best longboards and mid-lengths in existence.

With the addition of Skinner to the Thunderbolt stable, the surfing construction brand from Japan has continued to expand its available quiver. Skinner brings a number of different shapes to the table, including high-performance longboards such as the Blender and the Smoothie, and a performance single-fin called the Wrangler. He rode some of these boards to a third-place finish in the 2015 longboarding world championships, so we are pretty sure they work!

Here at Hawaiian South Shore, we believe that quality should measurable—and Skinner’s boards and performances on them have both proven the quality in his artistry and craftsmanship, both behind a planer and in the water. We were super excited when Skinner agreed to stock his boards in our shop, as we feel they are a great addition to our south shore quiver. He even came out for a visit in July, along with CJ Nelson, Harley Ingleby, Yu San, and the Carve Sports team! It was great to have him in the shop this summer, and is great to have his boards here all the time! Come on in and check them out!

SHOP BEN SKINNER SUFBOARDS

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