BEER CITY QUIVERS: GARRETT BURTON
Garrett Burton
Neighborhood: East Side, Milwaukee
Home Break: North Point MKE
Stance: Regular
Garrett is one of the most dedicated great lakes surfers in the Milwaukee area. If there is even a hint of surf he will be out in the water. He can nose ride with finesse and charge on the big days. Garrett travels well and can be found anywhere around the lake. Also, if you are looking for quality guitar repair in the MKE area, this is your guy!
- @BigLakeJake
Garrett's comments:
10'0" Mike Higley (Far Left)
This was the first longboard I got and learned to ride on. I bought it from Larry Williams and he got it from a friend who lived and surfed around Malibu. The shaper, Mike Higley was a head shaper at Dewey Weber Surfboards. It's got a very trippy looking acid splash on the bottom. It's a full displacement hull. Very traditional and wobbly. It works great in small to medium sized surf. Catches ripples. I'll bring the Hig with if it's small or if I'm teaching someone to surf.
9'6" Bing Silverspoon (Second from left)
I got this board from a guy in Michigan. I met up with him and got to ride it the same day on some waist to chest high, sand bar, beach break waves in the warm summer waters of South Haven. I'm not sure of the exact dimensions, it just reads "custom for Larry" - Matt Calvani. It's a noserider based on the outline of the original Bing David Nuuhiwa model.
It has a deep blended nose concave and the tail is scooped out on the deck.
This is my go to board. It works well for most conditions here on the lake all year round. It likes a good peeling jacked up sandbar or a steep section of some kind to get some nose rides. I ride it at all of the breaks around here and I also got to bring it to C-Street, Malibu, San O, and Venice beach. I ride this board alot.
9'8" Dextra Pig (Third from left)
This one a lady found at a rummage sale in Lake Geneva, WI. It has never even been waxed. It has a super flat rocker and rounded bottom. Heavy board. 2 1/2 inch mahogany stringer. It's such a classic shape. Dale Velzy came up with this shape on a balsa board he called the Pig. The balsa Malibu chips before the pig had the wide point in the middle to forward and Velzy basically flipped the board around. The wide point is in the back, closer to the tail which made turning easier and the thinner nose made riding in the pocket easier. All the guys started riding this shape soon after and it became the norm for hot doggers. This board is from about 1964. It's a pop-out which means the fiberglass was laid into the mold then foam was poured in and then it would be closed, the foam expands and out pops a surfboard. This boards mold plug was shaped by Velzy for Dextra, which is pretty bad ass even though it's not a hand shape.
7'10"Becker LC-3 (Second from right)
This is a fun size shred sled where I can take a step back from long boarding and focus on the mysterious ways of the tri-fin.
7'3" Island Surfboards (Far Right)
This is a big wave pin tail single fin. It was shaped by Monty Smith in the lovely town of Rincon, Puerto Rico. This board was meant to ride big waves like Tres Palmas in Rincon, Pipeline or the Mentawais. Getting barreled somewhere. I contacted Monty about the board - He told me he made it in 1973 and was blown away it ended up in Wisconsin. Monty still lives, surfs, and shapes in Rincon, Puerto Rico.
Garrett walking the tight rope on his 9'6" Bing Silverspoon in Wisconsin (Photo: Ryan Blair)
