There are a million-and-one surfboard shapers on this planet. All certainly love their craft. Some make better boards than others, some make more money than others, but one thing is certain: a local shaper doesn’t get into making surfboards for the money. A local shaper doesn’t get into making surfboards without having a deep love of surfing and the craft itself. A local shaper gets into making surfboards because they love making surfboards, and some of them will find wild success. Not all, of course, but some. And one of those shapers is Bing Copeland. Think Bing is a documentary that focusses on how he became one of the most famous names in all of surfing.
“From the earliest collaborators to present day, the story unfolds from first-hand accounts with Bing Copeland, Greg Noll, Dick Brewer, Duncan and Malcolm Campbell, Mike Eaton, Matt Calvani, and others,” writes the team over at Bing. “Their voices paired with archival footage will guide viewers through the ’60s as we follow the inception of the surfboard industry and how Bing Surfboards came to be, its milestones and achievements in the 1960s golden era of surfing, and how it became a cornerstone of the surf industry.”
The 45-minute film is a fantastic watch for those interested in surf history. As is generally the case with history, there are some very obvious threads that led to the way we surf today and the surfboards of present day. One thing is for sure: surfing would be different were it not for Bing Copeland.
