The Rearview Mirror Coloured Wetsuits: Piping Hot

In: The Rearview Mirror by Stu Nettle 8 Comments Wed 19th May '10

Tags: piping hot , gary elkerton , gary green , ross clarke-jones , richard cram , Kong

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This is a new section on Swellnet where we'll be reviving old magazine articles, video sections, classic advertising and assorted surfing paraphernalia. Heard about Tom Carroll's nut-huggers, Tom Curren's style or just keen for a peek into the past? Take a glance in the Rearview Mirror...

Junior readers, have you ever wondered why older surfers are resistant to revisiting their 80's heydays? Why they might pull an old pair of Raybans from the second drawer down yet leave other fashions from that decade untouched. Well, here's your answer - coloured neoprene.

Is this really the sort of attire you want to see sported in the surf again? And you thought a flash of blue on your shoulder was 'out there.'

These ads are from now-defunct wetsuit company Piping Hot. Started in 1975 by Torquay industry stalwart Fred Pyke, Piping Hot were taken over by Rod Brooks sometime in the early 80's. At the time they had on their roster an impressive list of surfers: Gary Elkerton, a young Ross Clarke-Jones, an even younger Gary Green (before he became Rip Curl's pioneering soulsurfer) and cutback king Richard Cram.

Call me boring but give me black neoprene anyday (with maybe just a flash of blue on the shoulder).

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