Smartr Device Stinger
The much anticipated Smartr Device Stinger is now here. The Smartr Stinger was designed by Greg Baller with graphic design assistance from Troy Blackmore and woodwork expertise from Professor Schmitt. The Smartr Stinger project has many influences behind the creation process that spans from Hawaiian surfboard designs to 80’s skateboard culture.
The birthplace of the notable stinger shape can be traced back to 1974 in Hawaii. Ben Aipa was in his workshop shaping a surfboard when he accidentally dropped it causing an indentation in the foam on the tail-end of the board. Not wanting to waste the blank surfboard, he narrowed out both sides of the tail where the dent had been leaving a wider platform up front.
Once in the water, the wider platform for the front foot added more stability and the narrowed out tail provided a sense of quickness not seen before. The narrow tail allowed for surfers to ‘sting’ the wave by making agile, whip-like turns in the water.
Once in the water, the wider platform for the front foot added more stability and the narrowed out tail provided a sense of quickness not seen before. The narrow tail allowed for surfers to ‘sting’ the wave by making agile, whip-like turns in the water.
Tom “Wally” Inouye’s first board from Caster skateboards was a stinger shape. Inouye grew up immersed in the surf scene surrounding Eastern Los Angeles and was naturally introduced to skateboarding at a young age. While riding a skateboard Wally emulated the same graceful style and flow as being in the water on a surfboard. As a kid Wally looked up to Gerry Lopez, Terry Fitzgerald, James Jones, and the Hawaiian surf scene.
Tom “Wally” Inouye’s first board from Caster skateboards was a stinger shape. Inouye grew up immersed in the surf scene surrounding Eastern Los Angeles and was naturally introduced to skateboarding at a young age. While riding a skateboard Wally emulated the same graceful style and flow as being in the water on a surfboard. As a kid Wally looked up to Gerry Lopez, Terry Fitzgerald, James Jones, and the Hawaiian surf scene.
Wally’s passion for surfing was directly translated into the production of his first Caster board in 1978 by resembling Aipa’s sting surfboard design.
In 1982, G&S skateboards turned Neil Blender pro and released his very first board. This G&S board from 1982 was called “three guys on ramp.” Blender was the artist behind the graphic which he drew with a Bic pen at the time. Tom Inouye’s Caster board directly influenced the shaping process for “three guys on ramp.” In 2014, Transportation Unit re-released an updated version of Blender’s original G&S board.
In 1979-1980, Santa Cruz skateboards released the Stinger in bright yellow and red. The Santa Cruz Stinger was the unofficial pro model of George “Wildman” Orton.
In the summer of 1980, Santa Cruz ran an ad in Skateboarder Magazine of Orton blasting a massive backside footplant riding the iconic red stinger.
In the summer of 1980, Santa Cruz ran an ad in Skateboarder Magazine of Orton blasting a massive backside footplant riding the iconic red stinger.
The graphics for the Smartr Stinger came from the mind of Greg Baller with the layout and design expertise of Troy Blackmore.
The yellow tiles located at the top of the board pays tribute to Greg’s home turf, the Grindline designed Dartmouth skatepark. The yellow tiles were influenced by a t-shirt graphic that Baller and Tyler Knowlton designed to fundraise for the park. The phrase and hashtag “Yellow Tile Fever” emerged to describe the madness of skateboarding going down at the Dartmouth bowl.
Beneath the yellow tiles is a Boarding House, Devo “science guy” sticker cut-out. The Boarding House was a Richmond, BC skateboard store that was owned by John Raimondo. John is a huge Devo fan and used the “science guy” logo on stickers and t-shirts for the Boarding House. Greg and his company Burly Caps continue to use the Devo “science guy” celebrating knee slide science for the future!!!
Leopard print at the bottom of the board ties everything together and signifies many things for Greg that spans from rock-n-roll culture, punk fashion, the nimbleness and speed of a leopard, and the everlasting impact that Tony Alva had on skateboarding.
Finally, the Madrid Explosion skateboard of the 1980s influenced how the graphics were assembled. The Madrid Explosion recently appears in the Netflix show Stranger Things 2, which newcomer MadMax rides.
Historical Knowledge provided by: Greg Baller Ι @burlycaps & Steve Olson via interviews in Juice Magazine Ι @mrolson