'Even Elon Musk Couldn't Afford This Surfboard Collection'

For those that have had a chance to stop in for a sneak peak, the cavernous century old space has been a buzzing hive. Prolific artist, animator, and North Shore fixture Drew Toonz jamming away in his studio, painting surfing’s most iconic moments one panel of plywood at a time; Dick Brewer’s right hand man Jimbo “Hail Yeah” Yarborough carefully whittling away at a Buzzy Trent Excalibur, in the same shaping bay he and RB spent the last few years of his life collaborating, drawn from Brewer’s original template; in house seamstress Jules Cataldo sewing clothes and sourcing vintage, while her partner, shaper and one of the North Shore’s most sought after resin and fiberglass wizards, Josh Peterson, helps set up lighting while boards cure in his new glasshop; and founder Ashton Goggans and his pops, Mark, steadily plugging away at the interior build out, just wrapping up a 1000 square foot gallery wall for Toonz’s show. 

Spearheaded by Ashton Goggans, the former Editor in Chief of Stab and Managing Editor here at Surfer Mag, and big wave surfing icon and Sunset Beach lifeguard Darrick Doerner. The space will have on display Doerner’s ridiculously deep cache of North Shore surf culture, most notably a priceless collection of his historic boards from Gerry Lopez, Alan Byrne, Reno Abellira, and most impressively the late great Dick Brewer, Darrick’s North Shore Gun Club original house shaper. 

“Darrick founded the Hawaii Surfing Museum as a way to preserve Hawaii’s surf history, and his son Tiger introduced us originally to collaborate on an archival surf media project that I’ve dreamt of for years. But when I saw the space, and spent a few days in there with Darrick and Toonz, I saw the vision for what this space could become—a truly international destination for anyone interested in surf history, design, culture, art, photography, surf films and magazines, and really a space that the community here on the North Shore can make their own for events—film and music festivals, talk stories and photo shows, shaper’s gatherings, whatever people can dream up inside the space.”

Ashton Goggans

Plans over the next month or two include building out a coffee bar with Ashton’s partners at Ace Coffee Outpost, and filling up board racks with a community quiver of demo boards from the sugar mill’s ridiculous number of world class shapers, as well as a few underground guest shapers—Owl Chapman, Peterson Surfcraft, Third Stone Surfboards, Daniel Jones, Mike Mattison/Northern Alliance, Ashton Pickle/AH Vessels, Todd Pinder, Barret Miller, Alex Lopez, Laroy Dennis, Mike Casey, and more. 

A core surf shop, coffee bar, shaping residency, museum archive and gallery, creative studio,  C.O.R.E is quickly becoming even more radical than the sum of all its parts. 

For anyone who didn’t start surfing yesterday, Darrick Doerner needs no introduction. The former Hawaiian Lifeguard-turned-big wave-pioneer developed tow-in surfing with Laird Hamilton, Gerry Lopez, Buzzy Kerbox and the “Strapped Crew” in the early 90s. Those early boards, and many future iterations, were all shaped by Brewer and Lopez. 

Brewer shaped the first guns and tow boards for Doerner, Lopez, Laird Hamilton, all the way to Kai Lenny, and passed on his knowledge to other legendary shapers like Owl Chapman, Chris Christenson, Mark Richards, Reno Abellira,  Working with Brewer’s longtime confidante and collaborator, shaper Jimbo Yarborough, Darrick and The Gun Club will be curating Brewer’s and sourcing boards for sale to the general public through the the new space.  

“Darrick has been such an integral part of big wave surf culture—a literal pioneer. And his relationships with Lopez and Brewer and Byrne helped shape the modern performance big wave surfboard.” 

If you’d like to learn more about the Center Of Radical Education, or want to get involved in the Hawaii Surfing Museum, follow them on Instagram here, or email Ashton at ashtongoggans@gmail.com