Makaha

Before the name AIPA was known worldwide, Ben was already changing the shape of how things were. The MAKAHA was shaped in 1965—just one year into his shaping journey—under the Surfboards Makaha label. While most boards of the era were bloated and bland, this one was sleek, refined, and decades ahead of its time. This wasn’t just a new shape—it was a disruption. The outline was an elegant and agressive-- a forward minded masterpiece. While others were still stuck in reverse softening rails for safety and ease, Ben was moving forward adding edges. He introduced tucked-under bottom rail lines with bite toward the tail—at a time when no one else was even thinking that way—because he wanted to push his surfing harder. The MAKAHA was a performance nose rider before that even had a name. It laid the foundation for what would become Ben’s groundbreaking MLB (Modern Longboard) design in the early ’80s, where he fused shortboard response with longboards aging soul and changed the game for good. This isn’t just a board—this the essence of a young Aipa who wasn’t interested in blending in. The MAKAHA is pure instinct, raw edge, and the first sign of a legend in the making.