Ugly™ NoseRiders – the Authentic “Ultimate Noserider”
Classic and Modern Noseriders
Bob Purvey, noseriding The Ugly “prototype,” and winning the 1966 Morey-Pope Professional “NoseRiding” invitational on it.
The Ugly gained its name because of its broad, blunt nose shape, which was odd in 1966. The Ugly noserider design is remarkable because it defies gravity, enabling long-nose rides and contest surfers to win in classic and contemporary noseriding contests.
Thus, it’s become the standard-bearer for noserider designs. Many surfboard shapers have acknowledged the shape as the most challenging and ultimate noserider design.
Four facets of the design work together to make the nose hold up: the wide blunt nose, an extended concave underneath the nose, a kicked-up tail, and the blended rocker and curves that flow together.
Bob Purvey introduced The Ugly noserider on a prototype at the November 1966 Morey-Pope Professional Invitational, where he won the noseriding contest division and made it the talk of the industry, generating lots of publicity.
The manufacturer launched an advertising campaign for the following two years. It credits Bob exclusively with his models, The Ugly and Super Ugly, for their achievements.
Noseriding is considered the quintessential maneuver in longboard surfing and one of the highest point-getters given by contest judges. Countless contest surfers have won contests on their Ugly.
By the end of 1967, sales for The Ugly, considered the hottest-selling surfboard worldwide, were at an all-time high. However, the longboard trend and noseriding started to peak.
The cognoscente in surfing, surfboard designers, changed their focus from Malibu to the Pipeline – small waves to big waves.
Longboarding (walking the board) started to give way to shorter, less resistant, faster-turning shapes better suited for big waves, which were getting more traction as the new challenge. Bob suggested that the manufacturer build a shorter version of The Ugly as the shortboard trend phased in. They were averaging about one foot shorter to be more concise. The short version of The Ugly was named the Super Ugly. It was less resistant and more maneuverable, but it was still a walking board best suited for noseriding.
The Super Ugly meant to compete in the shortboard movement. But it bucked the trend and was overlooked. The Super Ugly was a fun board and the first of its kind. It’s now known as the first commercially produced “mini-nose rider / fun-board.”
Because storms are infrequent, there are more small waves to ride throughout the year. So, longboarding returned to the surfing arena. Now, many surfers diversify, using a shortboard for big waves (10-foot faces and over) and a longboard for small waves where they can walk the length of the board and get the thrill of noseriding or even combine the two skill sets with the mini-noserider; getting speed-turns, air and noserides.
INTRODUCING UGLY’S NOSERIDER SHAPERS
Mark Brög – California
Maker of Ugly noseriders exclusively for California and the United States mainland.
Mark Brög owns Brög Surf and Skate, “Soul Performance Surf Shop,” and a factory in Gardena, California, where he shapes and does his colorwork.
Mark grew up in the South Bay, where his family, friends, new shop, and the factory now reside.
At age 14, Brög started surfing at Torrance Beach, where he rode the sand-bottom peak breaks with challenging lefts and rights. Surfing became his passion. Like most kids, he was an avid skateboarder tooling around his neighborhood early on. He was also a natural waterman who yearned to ride waves. He would catch rides to the beach whenever an opportunity presented itself. He quickly learned to translate his skateboard repertoire into surfing maneuvers.
After school, he would frequently visit the ET Surfboard factory in the neighborhood, where he studied shaping and glassing with his newfound friends. Eventually, he purchased a blank and shaped his first surfboard.
Once freed from his parent’s domain, he devoted his time to making surfboards. Master shaper Wayne Rich (two-time winner of the Sacred Craft Expo, Master’s Shape-Off), Jeff Biggs, and Errol Hickman became Mark’s mentors.
Some of his most memorable adventures took him to Mauritius, Senegal, and South Africa, where he worked in Jeffrey’s Bay, teaching young wannabe surfboard makers the fine art of shaping, glassing, and sanding. He became the Shaper for Aloha Designs in Durban, and then Ocean Safari in France invited Mark to shape. Like a sponge, he soaked up everything he could.
Mark’s passion for crafting boards enabled him to shape a variety of surfboards, snowboards, kitesurfing boards, and, of course, skateboards. Unlike his contemporaries, he also developed the fine art of airbrushing and colorwork with attention to detail, which elevated his reputation.
Friends and family, including his grown-up son and daughter, live in the South Bay, where he recently completed his dream of building an eco-friendly surf and skate design and repair shop in Gardena.
His full-service shop stocks a variety of boards, including demos. He promotes the importance of sustainability with knowledge about the impact of climate change on the ocean and environment and principles to live by.
Stop by to try a demo and get an Ugly to noseride forever.
Mark Brög – Soul Performance, 13429 Western Ave, Gardena CA 90249. Tel.310-370-1428
Eric Walden, Hawaii
Maker of Ugly noseriders exclusively for Hawaiian islands and the Pacific region customers.
Eric Walden moved to the island of Oahu in the summer of 1999 and soon after was introduced to legendary surfing icon and shaper Ben Aipa. He took notice of Eric’s talent and decided to mentor him in the art of making surfboards. For the next six years, Eric honed his shaping and board-building skills under the watchful eyes of Aipa before starting his own company (12th Floor Foam and Glass) with a good friend and master laminator, Brian Michler.
From 2006 – to 2013, Eric split his time between California and Hawaii crafting boards under the Cooper Designs label for highly respected surfboard builder Gene Cooper of Cooperfish surfboards and iconic surfer/shaper Lance Carson while continuing to help Aipa until his retirement.
Originally from southern California, Eric started surfing at age ten in Ocean Beach, San Diego. He favored the clean, lined-up point surf from Malibu to the robust beach breaks at Blacks to perfect his style and indulge his passion for classic equipment and smooth, powerful surfing.
Eric currently shapes under his label, Echo Whiskey Surfboards. He specializes in traditional single-fin longboards and shortboards, focusing on dynamic, clean lines and custom resin colorwork.
Eric lives with his wife and daughter in Honolulu and can typically surf his favorite secret spot at Ala Moana “Bowls,” Waikiki, or somewhere on the south shore where it’s most inviting.
Eric is one of the finest shapers I’ve enjoyed working with. He is a masterful shaper, and we are proud to have him on our team, expressing his skills by making our Ugly line of noseriders exclusively for the Hawaii/Pacific region.
Contact via email: Eric@EchoWhiskeySurf.com
