when i was a teenager, Ben Aipa was my shaper, and also my surf coach. he was very strict, but very dedicated. throughout the years, i would always see him on the beach or in the water, and we would share stories and laughs.
and when he surfed, my camera would always be on this legend. a true Hawaiian surfer that i respected very much.
and when my friends from Japan would come to Hawaii, i would always introduce Ben to everyone.
and we would go out and share waves. i would always tell everyone, “when you see Ben paddle for a wave, don’t even try to paddle. just watch.”
Ben use to hang out at contests coaching Hawaii’s best. and i’ll never forget the first time i took Shun Murakami surfing at Kewalos. Ben was watching Shun carefully and told me “that Japanese kid is really good!” and that’s a huge compliment coming from him.
hey Ben, thank you for being such a great coach and shaper! and also thank you for just being a nice guy to me and my friends. i appreciate all those years of coaching and i will continue to use your techniques when i coach my students. goodbye Big Ben…
watch this video of classic Hawaiian style surfing by Ben Aipa…
