I have been on the board of Boys and Girls Club in Santa Barbara for a number of years now.The club helps and inspires thousands of kids each year in our community.
We do an annual auction and this year for our “Back to the 80s” theme I have collaborated with master shaper Bill Barnfield to create a classic 7′ 7″ gun featured in the iconic shot above, taken by James Cassimus during the ’83 Pipeline Masters. Yes, I did make the takeoff… somehow.
Barnfield went back to his old templates and hand-shaped (and glassed) a beautiful pocket rocket. The original spray artist Suzi Gillette (mom of charger Gavin Gillette) recreated the classic ’80s zig zag design. I know how groovy the ’70s are currently, but perhaps it’s time for some ’80s shock and awe!
Getting this board done was quite an endeavor–in this age of mass production, it is good for the spirit to see that part of our culture can still be re-created by hand.