Carroll, Barahona, Saltzman in Blue Mango
Blue Mango Surfboard’s Joel Saltzman, Corky and Raquel Carroll, Mike Purpus and Jose Barahona at Barahona’s shaping room in Hermosa Beach. Photo courtesy of Joel Saltzman At 71, Corky Carroll is still the coolest surfer around. The three-time International Surfing Champion, his lovely wife Raquel, Blue Mango Surfboards founder Joel Saltzman, and old friends John Joseph, Joey Lombardo and I had lunch at the HT Grill in Redondo Beach last month. I hadn’t seen Corky for 19 years, but as soon as we sat down sharing surf stories, everyone was listening instead of eating. Corky was in town to meet with Saltzman and Jose Barahona, who is shaping longboards Corky and I are designing for the new Blue Mango label. Some of the boards will also have Corky’s paintings laminated on the decks. Corky was the Kelly Slater of the ‘60s. He thrived off surfing competition. The only way to beat him was staying away from him and hope you got a good ride when he was paddling back out. Corky was born in Alhambra, but moved to Surfside Beach at an early age. He started surfing on when he was 7 years old. “I was lucky to have a lot of good surfers out there with me,” he said. “Tim Dorsey took me under his…
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