The History of Con Surfboards - Con Colburn

Compared to many of his counterparts who built surfboards in the 1960's, Constantine "Con" Colburn could almost be considered a senior citizen when he began surfing at the age of 22, in 1956. And though Con may not have been known for his surfing prowess, he made significant contributions to the sport as a product innovator.

A savvy young businessman, Con quickly recognized the growth-potential of the surf industry, and opened his first surf shop in Santa Monica, California, in 1958. Called the Surf House, it was originally a ding repair shop; by 1959, Con had changed the name to Con Surfboards, and operated three retail locations. The legend was born.

Along with his Con Surfboards business, he also started ConTrol Products, a company dedicated to developing new products for the surfing industry. Between 1966 and 1971, ConTrol introduced a floating removable-fin system, a surfboard traction spray and the first commercially-produced* surf leash, called the Power Cord. Con is also credited with inventing and introducing the leash plug during the same year; after other methods of attaching leashes failed, today's leash plug remains essentially unchanged from Con's original design.

(*Many of you may remember Slipcheck, the original traction aerosol developed by Tom Morey in 1965. Also, it was Pat O'Neill, Jack's son, who is credited with inventing the modern surf leash - even though Tom Blake experimented with a cord made of cotton robe back in the mid 1930's. But it was Con Colburn who actually began marketing a version of the surf leash commercially in late 1971.)

Legendary Con Surfboards

Con Surfboards is probably best remembered for two models that had become extremely popular by 1967 - the aptly-named "The Ugly Surfboard" and the "C.C. Rider Surfboard." The blunt-nosed Ugly was introduced in response to the noseriding craze which was happening at the time. And Claude Codgen, the East Coast champion, designed the C.C. Rider, being a popular signature model which helped capture the growing East Coast market.

By the late 1970's, Con Surfboards had all but faded into surf history, and in 1988 Con retired to Bishop, California, a resort community in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Con Colburn died just four years later, in 1992, at the age of 57.

Con Colburn and his legacy continue today through Con Surfboards and our legendary hand-shaped boards like The Ugly, the Super Ugly and the C.C. Rider Model. Coupled with our line of modern longboard and shortboard designs, Con's surfboards continue to turn heads and deliver the finest quality products in the industry.