BEER CITY QUIVERS: KEVIN BAUMGART
Kevin Baumgart
Neighborhood: Riverwest, Milwaukee
Home Break: Bradford Beach MKE
Stance: Regular
Kevin is one of the nicest surfers you will meet in the line up and has been surfing the lakes for ten years. He is also one of the few lake surfers who prefer a short board over a log. Kevin can be found around the Milwaukee area ripping the local spots and riding with the Seven Bridges crew. He travels to the west coast often and surfs anywhere he can find waves. Did I mention he has one of the coolest looking motorcycles in Milwaukee?
- @biglakejake
Kevin's Comments:
9'0" Becker Longboard (Far Left)
I'm probably one of the few lake surfers that can short board, but suck at longboarding. I've only ridden this a handful of times and flop around on it. With the pin tail and thruster fin set-up you'd think it would be a blast to ride. I'll give it a better go one of these years.
7'3" NSP Funboard (Second from Left)
This was the first surfboard I purchased. Most of us lake surfers start with an epoxy board similar to this. We always laugh about every lake surfer owning, or having owned an NSP. I painted this recently to make it less "kookish." On smaller days I still have a blast on this at Atwater Beach and around Milwaukee. According to Adam Kuhnen, it has "soggy waffle" fins so it's not the best board for throwing down an aggressive turn.
7'3" Bing Bonzer (Third from Left)
I found this on craigslist from fellow lake surfer Bodin Sterba when he moved to Shorewood. He has regretted selling it to me since (sorry Bodin!). It's a twin fin with two super deep channels that lead through most of the bottom to the tail. It's fast and responsive on bigger days. I'd recommend not borrowing this board to Nate Bell or you won't see it again.
6'3" 7S Quattro (Third from Right)
This is mainly an ocean board. It's not the best shape for the lakes. Anyone want to buy it?
5'10" Firewire Sweet Potato (Second from Right)
This used to be my go to board before I got the Hypto Krypto. I've had a blast on this thing in a ton of different lake surf conditions. For a groveler, I've found it's still maneuverable and with the quad set up it holds and goes. I never thought I'd be able to go this short on the lakes but this beast has 47L of volume - it's a boat!
5'10" Hayden Shapes Hypto Krypto (Far Right)
Jake and others call this the "swiss army knife" of surfboards, because you can ride it in any condition. This is my newest board but I've already gotten to surf it in the lakes, California and Nicaragua. It's a blast to ride, paddles like a dream, and flies down the line. For a 5'10" it still has 34L of volume so I've found it to be sufficient for most days on the lake.
Kevin riding a fresh water wave on his 5'10 Firewire Sweet Potato
