In 1979 The first Stubbies Trials were held at Blacks Beach and Canyon rider Richard Kenvin takes down many of California's top riders, including Dave Parmenter, Dan Flecky, Matt and Sam George. That spring, Rusty travels to Hawaii to shape with Bill Barnfield. Rusty's popularity spreads and he is invited to judge several IPS/ASP and California events including the Pipe Masters and the last two Duke events. Rusty's buddy PT, who had since been crowned surfing's first World Champion in '76, begins getting boards from him along with another hot Australian surfer by the name of Ian Cairns. That same year Laguna Niguel, California's 18-year-old and leading surfboard blank producer Clark Foam works with Rusty on designing and building dozens of master plugs for mass production. They could be recognized by the "R" stamped on the raw blank.
In July 1985, Huntington Beach's Op Pro sees a fierce rivalry mature between Occy and young Californian Tom Curren--and beneath the surface a quiet, respectful rivalry develops out of the famed Occy/Curren duels, one between their shapers Rusty and Al Merrick. That year Occy finally takes out Curren to capture his first Op Pro victory. The publicity helps Rusty's popularity soar and he decides to leave Canyon and start his own surfboard company. Old friend and Surfing Magazine advertising director Peter Townend helps Rusty develop his new logo. PT suggests simply "Rusty" and the R-dot is born.
1986 Rusty incorporates tee-shirts into his new business and they sell like hotcakes along with his already acclaimed Rusty surfboards. In the following year Rusty apparel is introduced at the January Surf Expo and the R-dot quickly becomes a well-known logo in the surf world.
In the 90's new school leaders like Todd Chesser, Kalani Robb, Shane Beschen, Dino Andino, Matt Archbold, Pat O’Connell, Taylor Knox, Chris Ward and the Weatherly brothers all become Rusty team riders and icons for a new, mainstream era in surfing. They are dubbed the ‘New School’. In that time Rusty becomes one of the first surf companies to extend into skate, snow and wakeboarding, supporting such athletes as Tony Hawk and Willy Santos. While staying busy building his company into a global brand, Rusty continues shaping around four boards a day for a long list of pros and others. Rusty introduces the C-5 Challenge and the Anything But 3 contest. Rusty’s C-5 design and the contests are a further testament of his commitment to the evolution surfing.
2005-Present
On December 5 of ’05, Clark Foam closes its doors on the surfboard industry forever, initiating one of the most tragic days in the history of the sport. Rusty along with hundreds of other global surfboard builders take quite a hit but find optimism in what will surely be coming years full of innovation. In spite of the dark cloud hung over us all by the Clark Closure, the Rusty brand takes a fresh look at the youth market it has remained a leader of for so long and finds its mission for 2006: All About Surfing and All About the Beach. By the end of January ('06), Hawaiian phenom Jamie O'Brien signed on and commenced to blow up harder than ever before with four magazine covers in the month April. Along with Jamie "The Freak" O'Brien, San Clemente, California's Nate Yeomons joins the team and begins his assault on the WQS and focuses on making the Dream Tour in the coming years. And while the team solidifies, innovation in surfboard construction and design flourishes in many directions, confirming that the show will indeed go on and that life without Clark isn't so bad after all.
Rusty 5'10 Piranha Quad Surfboard......click here to view board
Rusty 6'0 Mod Fish Surfboard...........click here to view board
Rusty 6'10 Terminator Surfboard..........click here to view board
Rusty 6'4 Predator Surfboard...............click here to view board
Click here for the full range of Rusty Surfboards
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