Tom Morey, Surfer Who Invented the Boogie Board, Dies at 86

To test this 4½-foot long, 3-pound board, he took it to the west side of the island, paddled out on the water and then experienced the waves in a way he had never felt while standing or kneeling on a surfboard.

“I could actually feel the wave through the board,” he said in an interview on the surf museum’s website. “On a surfboard, you’re not feeling the nuance of the wave, but with my creation I could feel everything. I was thinking, ‘It turns, it’s durable, it can be made cheaply, it’s lightweight, it’s safe.’”

He added, “God, this could be a really big thing.”

He initially named it S.N.A.K.E. for all the body parts (side, navel, arm, knee, elbow) that touch the board when someone lies on it. But he settled on “boogie,” for the “wiggle and jiggle” that he associated with swing music.

Mr. Morey began producing Boogie Boards in 1974, took on a partner, Germain Faivre, and opened a factory in Carlsbad, Calif. Demand surged. In 1977, the company sold 80,000 Boogie Boards, according to Mr. Morey’s website. Some reports at the time suggested that the sales had helped spark a marked increase in surfing in Southern California and that Boogie Boarding had, at least temporarily, become as popular as skateboarding.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/business/tom-morey-dead.html