There are rare surfboards, then there are serious collector’s items. This one-of-a-kind Skip Frye x Thomas Campbell is the latter. While the $9,000 price tag may raise eyebrows, this is actually a steal of a deal.
Considering a new Skip Frye will run you close to $5K regardless (if you can even get on the list), and this one is inspired by Sprout, one of the most influential surf films of all time — well, you get the idea. Sure, it’s out of reach for 99.9% of us, but if you know a wealthy surfer with a taste for refined surf culture, you should probably send them here. According to Campbell, the value is likely closer to $15,000.
We caught up with Ken Lewis of The Surfboard Rack to learn more about the history of this board, which is on consignment, and his expertly curated selection of foam and fiberglass.
Skip Frye x Thomas Campbell
Ken Lewis: Sprout was one of those films that is a fork in the road. If Curren riding a Frye fish at J-Bay in the mid-’90s got us looking at alternate shapes, Sprout got us all buying and ordering those boards, and it changed the landscape of garages and lineups everywhere.
This 6’9″ Frye long fish, from 2003, was one of the first longer fish shaped off the new Rawson-Clark foam blanks at the time. Skip’s version set the tone that other shapers spent years designing their own versions off of.
That scene of Joel Tudor, Skip Frye, and Rob Machado surfing together in Costa Rica — filmed by Thomas Campbell — was a high point of the film and the era. Thomas ordered a few Fryes and went to work on them, applying his signature artwork. Apparently this board was ridden during the promo tour for the film by some of the guys in the film. Then Thomas gave it to The Surfer’s Journal as a gift for their partnership on the project. It sat on display at the Journal’s offices for years before it was sold to the current owner, who has never waxed it. It has a few heel dents in the deck, but otherwise it is very clean.
Its significance transcends the shaper and the artist. It encapsulates an era that ushered in a whole new generation of people opening their minds to new shapes and new ways of riding waves — an influence still present in the sport today. According to Campbell, the value is likely closer
The specs: 6’9″ Skip Frye Fish (circa 2003–04) · Art by Thomas Campbell · Gloss polish · Fins by the legendary Larry Gephardt
The Surfboard Rack
The Surfboard Rack
Ken Lewis: I started The Surfboard Rack after I had a stroke. While I was healing at home on disability, with my benefits running out, I needed to figure out what my life was going to look like next. With a new appreciation for health, and wanting to reconnect with my love for surfboards, I decided to start an online shop from home during my recovery.
I wanted to focus on what I know and what I ride: San Diego shapes, made by people I have known most of my life. Every surf shop has its lane dialed in — I wanted to offer the boards you would not normally find far and wide. I also wanted to be able to give a little more history on the boards I sell, and to spend real time with my customers, offering them a deeper background on what they are buying.
I started selling surfboards in 1988 for Bird at Windansea Beach Surf Shop, and I still shoot his Surf Shed videos today. I have worked as a boatman in Tavarua, and I have put in time with Rusty, Transworld Skateboarding, Fallen and Zero skateboards, Circa Footwear, and others along the way.
Related: 11 Years In The Making, Thomas Campbell Reveals His Magnum Opus