Larry Bertlemann, the "Titan of Torque", the "Sultan of Swivel", the “Rubberman”. Larry Bertlemann was the quintessential pioneer of ;ew school surfing. “Anything is Possible” was the motto he adopted into his mind bending space aged approach to surfoing. Without conforming to the restraints of competition, he experienced success by the early 70s. In the 1972 World Contest in San Diego, he finished third, followed by a victory in the 1973 U.S. Championships. Contrary to advice from his shaper, coach and mentor Ben Aipa, Bertlemann turned pro. Bertlemann an avid skateboarder, envisioned translating his land based repertoire of tricks to the water. Visualization was what separated him from the pack. The forward thinking Aipa was the perfect match, creating wide, short (less than 6-foot) swallowtail and stinger designs that offered Bertlemann total freedom of movement. Always running at top speed and on the verge of spinning out. Bertlemann's low gravity cutbacks, 360s and switchfoot antics were spontaneous, yet completely functional.
   From the time he was a grom hanging out at Sparky's Surf Shop, Bertlemann was interested in design. He shaped his first board inside a friend's house. After watching Sparky and working with Aipa, he began shaping regularly, collaborating with Town and Country, George Downing, Hawaiian Pro Designs and others. A driving force in creating the swallowtail, Bertlemann also helped in the revival of ultra short twin fins around 1980. Donald Takayama, who runs the Hawaiian Pro Designs label, has a retro Bertlemann model on the market today. Despite his distaste for the conformity of competition, Bertlemann became one of the most popular and well paid professionals of early pro surfing. He managed to finish in the IPS Top 16 in both 1976 and 1979, but his focus remained on progression and visibility. His popularity, included a starring role in Hal Jepsen's 1975 film Super Session and nine cover shots between 1974 and 1984, the most of any surfer.