The name John Holly rings like a perfect pitch sound wave for the San Diego epicenter of surfing.
Growing up in Sunset Cliffs, wonderful waves for surfing were just a short walk away.
Today, John now celebrates watching his grandchildren thrive surfing waves in the exact same place where he got started at the Cliffs. John can look back on a lifetime list of vanguard surf historic moments.
Growing up John would shape in his backyard. A ripe culture of talented surf entrepreneurs was flourishing from Sunset Cliffs to Solana Beach, and all over La Jolla. A swelling wave of surf capitalism elevated the back yard shaper into the respected local creator whose boards other shapers covet to ride.
John lived next door another surfboard builder also named John, John Durward who had a glass shop in his backyard. John Holly would literally hand his shaped decks over the fence for glassing in perfect integrated construction for days and days. Until the day Holly mentions that the waves were breaking great so he went surfing instead. When he got back he got an earful from his glasser neighbor who was hot to build more boards faster and was waiting for the shapes on his side of the fence.
John Holly is in the A+ grade of the Gordan & Smith talent pool, shaping nearby to Skip Frye. John also contributed to Seagull Surfboards, Canyon Surfboards, Native Surfboards, and many others.
In the midst of writing this article about John Holly, I went to Coconut Peet’s to track down fins for an 8 foot Canyon Surfboards glider that was shaped by John Holly. Who did Billy introduce me to at the counter? None other than John Holly in person!
I told him I have another restored John Holly Canyon Surfboard that looks out over Rose Canyon in my living room.
Shaking the hand of this vanguard shaper gave me an ecstatic shock of energy. It was a familiar animata that I felt before in the lines of his surfboards. In a flashing moment I felt a connection between the hand of a creator who has merged deeply and entirely into new plastique forms and now there was a spooky distance between them.
What’s It Like to Surf a John Holly Surfboard?
Looking to fall deep into the flow state trance of soul surfing? Look no further than a John Holly Surfboard.
Issac Wood shows love to the world with his deep flowing turns on this John Holly egg.