"WELL WHAT CAN I SAY THEY WENT LIKE SMOKE... UNBELIEVABLE"

Bonzer 5 - Harmony Lane - Sequence - The Lorien Creative

WORDS BY MR. LEE EVANS...

In 2003 Alan Stokes and myself shaped a 5 fin board in my shaping bay. Pictures of it were published somewhere claiming it to be a Bonzer (not of our doing) and it drew the attention of Guy Penwarden, a UK patron of the original Bonzers and friend of Malcolm Campbell.

Our board had a sticker from our local vintage surfboard shop Revolver owned by John Isaac. Guy tracked the shop down turned up one day and said something like --- that ain't a faking bonzer, I'll show you a faking Bonzer --- so by default we were somewhere down the line introduced to Guy.

Later that year Malcolm came to the UK to shape some Bonzers. Alan and Myself put in our orders for the infamous "Shelter" model and went down to see Malcolm shape them and see what it was all about. Well what can I say they went like smoke... Unbelievable.

Next year when Malcom came back I got another, I also took the opportunity to sit with him and investigate something I felt no one was documenting, everyone asking seemed to be concerned with how they work but while I watched people come and go and as I sat in the bay with Malcom a pattern in the conversation appeared to me . Malcom would talk about the Bonzer as a lifestyle or a Way of Life to him. It seemed to be going over people's heads as if he hadnt even said it. I'm not sure if Malclom had been waiting for someone to ask him to elaborate but when I did his eyes seemed to light up and I sat with him for about an hour in the back of my old Peugeot estate while he explained to me what he meant.

To him the Idea of the Bonzer seemed to come from a certain mental space maybe ethereal I don't know, a free-er Creative Realm. I recognised a thankfulness for the Bonzer design/Idea.

Malclom's genuine gratitude for what the Bonzer had bought in his life, a living and people that thought the same way, the magnetism of the design seemed to draw like minded people into his space, people he could relate to and enjoy the company of.

I feel lucky to be one of those and also enjoyed the company of Malcolm and other Bonzer riders. There is definitely something going on!

My regards to all the Bonzer Lovers out there, and a small plea to the non-believers... for fork sake give one a go!! You might just like it.

PEACE.