Whilst Al Byrne was well known in his own right prior to 1987, there arguably weren’t many shaper/surfer relationships that garnered more respect than AB and Kong. Byrne was known for his attacks on Pipeline and Kong for his full-tilt power surfing at Sunset.

I have been so very fortunate to obtain this 8’0″ channel bottom shaped by Al Byrne for Kong – surfed in back-to-back Sunset wins in 1987. Complete with his competition singlet and poster of his surfing this board. To me, this was the epitome of surfing when I was growing up, and one of the zeniths of high-performance power surfing of the time.

Rare in so many ways, not the least of which is that due to a sponsorship mishap, there was apparently only 6 weeks during which AB-shaped Byrning Spears were adorned with Kong decals…..

Seriously heavy channels – around 10mm deep in fact, with very small fins were the hallmark of the development of AB’s rockets.
Whilst the details were there already, I can’t help but think that having Kong on his boards must have really allowed AB to test his craftsmanship to its limits. A match of surfer and equipment that made for ferocious surfing at one of the pinnacle surf breaks.