MARTIN “POTTZ”
POTTER

1989 World Champ, Martin Potter was, without question, the best freesurfer on the planet. Through the ’80s, he was a card-carrying member of the Big Four, along with Tom Curren, Tom Carroll and Mark Occhilupo. His fluid, powerful, radical style — an unheard-of combination — made him one of the most admired surfers anywhere. He also helped pioneer aerials. A teenaged Kelly Slater even patterned his style after Potter’s, plastering his walls with shots of Potter putting his trademark green-and-yellow explosion boards through their paces. He stayed near the top of the ratings, remaining firmly in the top 10 until his retirement in 1995. The proclaimed freesurfer spent a record 14 seasons in the world’s Top 16. Blue Hawaii Surf was started in 1984 as one of Hawaii’s premiere surfboard companies. Shapers such as Glenn Minami, Wes Oshiro, Ben Aipa, and Ernie Tanaka were providing innovative and state of the art equipment for some of the top surfers in the world. These surfers included Martin Potter along with Dane Kealoha, Sunny Garcia, Johnny Boy Gomes, Mark Foo, Ross Williams, and Braden Diaz to name just a few.

This board is in the permanent SHACC collection, donated by Flippy Hoffman.
Portrait photo © Martin Potter