Coloured Wetsuits: Piping Hot
This is a new section on Swellnet where we'll be reviving old magazine articles, video sections, classic advertising and assorted surfing paraphernalia. Heard about Tom Carroll's nut-huggers, Tom Curren's style or just keen for a peek into the past? Take a glance in the Rearview Mirror...
Junior readers, have you ever wondered why older surfers are resistant to revisiting their 80's heydays? Why they might pull an old pair of Raybans from the second drawer down yet leave other fashions from that decade untouched. Well, here's your answer - coloured neoprene.
Is this really the sort of attire you want to see sported in the surf again? And you thought a flash of blue on your shoulder was 'out there.'
These ads are from now-defunct wetsuit company Piping Hot. Started in 1975 by Torquay industry stalwart Fred Pyke, Piping Hot were taken over by Rod Brooks sometime in the early 80's. At the time they had on their roster an impressive list of surfers: Gary Elkerton, a young Ross Clarke-Jones, an even younger Gary Green (before he became Rip Curl's pioneering soulsurfer) and cutback king Richard Cram.
Call me boring but give me black neoprene anyday (with maybe just a flash of blue on the shoulder).
Comments
Ahem... I had one of these. All green smoothie with red panels :)
My old man had a grey O'Neill smoothie with blue and red panels. As a grommet, I was always disappointed in his choice of wetsuit so lacking in fluro green.
Some old style boardie patterns coming back to the racks, the leg cuts getting shorter, it's only a matter of time before colour makes a splash back in the wettie market. It's about the only "retro" part of the culture to not re-surface. Must admit I don't miss it, but, on those double grey days I stress a bit more wearing basic seal black.
Lime Green, Fluro Yellow and White cuffs. What was I thinking?
Glad that's behind us all.
Mind you the Rubber-up chicks stuff was beyond hot ;-)
Email from Rod Brooks: "Just for the record I bought into Fred Pyke's Dive n Surf in 1975 and renamed it Piping Hot in 1978 after fully buying out Fred that year. I was also the wet suit designer!!!...anyway
thanks for the memory's....best...Rod"
Still got my late 80's fluro green O'Neil springy, it still fits and it's in better nick then my 2 year old $400 steamer, it's out lasted many, many other new "high tech" suits that I've had over the years.
I have been known to stil wear it for a laugh every now and then, usually when my mate and I take out the retro boards for some fun. The fluro green goes so well with the fluro yellow and orange on my Darrel Bulger shaped "Island Aclassic", ahh.. the memories, :)
I grew up surfing Mooloolaba, where Kong was from, so I was heavily influenced I guess you would say. I had a grey all smoothie triathlon suit same as Kong did for a while, also rode a Byrning Spear ( one of his old assymetrical tails that had been snapped and fixed up ), also had a pair of his boardies, scored them from Kongs brother...but I also had that sick little tube shot of him on my school folder in grade 9...I liked the colourful wetties, black bores me, so does everyone with only clear white boards, a bit of colour is good I reckon as long as it doesnt look gay....haha....
www.moresurfboards.com
i hate the colours haha i rather the black wetsuits with the a white symbol like hurley. Although i dont actually like Hurley wetsuits i like the design its pritty mad.. im starting to like the retro designs and stuff on boards and boardies but im not a fan of the old wetsuits designs.. way too bright haha