THE HISTORY OF INFINITY
The Boehne Family of Shapers: Steve, Dave & Dan
2020 Brings the 50th Year Anniversary of Infinity Surfboard Co. and as luck would have it, we’ve crossed over the 50,000+ mark of surfboards that garner the famous Infinity Surfboards logo! That’s an average of 1000+ surf crafts we’ve carefully created every year in business and that’s pretty cool…
The first Infinity Surfboard was shaped in 1970. It is a 7′ balsa single fin with #1 proudly printed on the tail. It has never been ridden but hangs as a memorial on the wall.
The surfboard shapers and design team at Infinity, consist of master craftsmen and 2017 International Shapers Hall of Fame inductee Steve Boehne and his two sons the “Boehne Bros” Dan and Dave. The Boehne family tree takes a lot of pride in the heritage that they bring to each shape. Steve taught numerous shapers that worked under his tutelage over the years the lessons in sculpting foam, shaped and glassed his first board in 1960 at the age of 13. Dan Boehne shaped his first board at the age of 11 and later Dave shaped his first when he was 15.
Steve discovered surfing in 1959. His first board was a balsa Velzy-Jacobs. He surfed Torrance Beach and Palos Verdes Cove. The early surfing culture was strong in the South Bay even before the Beach Boys records. Steve built about 100 boards in his garage until 1968 when he went to work shaping for Gordie Surfboards. Gordie was a master craftsman and really helped Steve refine his classic longboard shapes.
Shortboards exploded on the scene around ’69 and Steve shaped about 50 boards a week for several shops in Huntington Beach for the next couple of years. He and Barrie were married in 1971 and together they opened the first Infinity Surf Shop. It was in an old gas station on 5th and PCH in Huntington Beach. The hand painted sign boasted perfect surfboards, hopefully that meant perfectly suited.
Barrie Boehne at the time was regarded as the best female tandem surfer in the world already garnering a World Title with her original partner and legendary waterman Pete Peterson. Steve and Barrie later went on to win multiple ASP World Tandem Championships and were featured on ABC Wide World of Sports and LIFE Magazine.
The 70’s Infinity was one of the leading board manufacturers of the era with multiple shop locations and a busy factory. Infinity was there for the birth of Skateboarding and was one of the first companies to manufacture fiberglass skateboards and be a part of the Dog Town movement. Guy Grundy at the time held the Guiness of World Records speed record which he broke riding and Infinity skateboard.
Through the 80’s , 90’s and 2000’s, Infinity garnered many magazine covers across the globe on multiple surf craft. Surfing Magazine, Surfer Magazine, Longboard Magazine, SUPtheMag etc. Dan Boehne was touted as a child shaping prodigy and called the “Next Al Merrick” by SURFER Magazine when he was in his teens. Dave Boehne went on to compete professionally as both a shortboard and longboard surfer and pioneer the sport of SUP both as an athlete and progressive board designer.
Today the Boehne’s stay true to our roots and pride ourselves on making the most versatile and wide range of surf craft for all kinds of surfers and waterman. Shortboards, Longboards, StandUpPaddle, Waveski, Foil, Wake and Tandem. We make it all right here in Dana Point, CA.