Way back in 1960, in Pasadena, Texas, my father Dr. John H. Brown, decided to practice his fiberglassing skills in advance of designing and building the first of many racing catamaran sailboats. He designed and crafted two, ten foot long, urethane foam and fiberglass surfboards.He took my brother Dwight Brown and I to 37th.Street beach in Galveston, Texas and sent us out into the surf. Little did he know that he had started what was to become my more than 55 year “love affair” with “all things surfing”.

   There were not many surfers in Texas back then, but Dwight and I managed to find other surfers as time went by, and these friendships became very special as surfing was our bond. Suddenly, by the mid 60’s surfing became the rage and the Texas Gulf Coast was not to be left out. A brave few Texas craftsmen and entrepreneurial store owners made their mark up and down the Gulf Coast with local board building factories and surf shops that became the hangouts for surfers. Local Texas surf shops were the “what’s new” sources for surfers and “social centers” for days when the surf was flat. Surfing contests sponsored by these businesses were great promotional events for the shop “teams” that aggregated around the sponsor shops and board makers. Rock and roll was the background music for the 60’s and printed band T-shirts were the wearable statements of hipness for the youth. Initially T shirts were about music but individual surfboard makers and surf shops caught on to this affordable, sellable, wearable, media and soon most surf shops the world over, had their Surf T-shirts for sale.

    For the surfers, T-shirts made one very clear statement, “I SURF !” or at least it showed that you thought surfing was cool. To the shop keepers it was another avenue to pay the rent and advertise (win/win). My most prized possessions back then were my surf Tshirts and judging by the excitement about this TEXAS ONLY collection, I was not alone. My growing, online collection of TEXAS ONLY CLASSIC SURF T-SHIRTS, that I have faithfully reproduced on quality T shirt blanks, is a way for me to take you on a “stroll down memory beach” and I hope you find a favorite or two to order for yourself or a surfer you love. Each design page has a bit of first hand history submitted by the original owner. A portion of the proceeds go to them for their kind permission to reproduce their iconic designs and to show appreciation for their contribution to TEXAS SUFING HISTORY. None of us are getting any younger but in the line-up, age is just a number.