Surfing pioneer Larry Gordon dies at 76 in San Diego

Larry Gordon, the man who utterly transformed surfing as he produced foam boards at his California company, has died. He was 76.

Gayle Gordon, Gordon’s wife, stated he died quietly on New Year’s Day at his home in San Diego following an extended illness.

A well-known figure in California’s surfing and skateboarding scenes, Gordon was identified as having Parkinson’s disease nearly a decade ago.

At San Diego State University, Larry studied chemistry, and it was then that he started tinkering with foam materials at his family’s plastics factory.

In the late 50s, Larry and fellow surfer and friend, Floyd Cruz, used Polyurethane foam to create their very own innovative surfboards.

The booming interest in their foam surfboards forced them to move from Smith’s small garage and start the legendary Gordon & Cruz Surfboards & Skateboards, their first surf shop.