Big Daddy Ed Roths, Surf Nazi Helmets, before surfing took itself seriously.

 

In the mid early to mid 60s surfing was just coming off its first major boom period which is generally contributed to the Gidget phenomena, and then all the kitsch movies and basically any product that may attract the huge American youth market was promoted. One of the greatest minds of that period Big Daddy Ed Roth, he knew what young people wanted and delivered in spades, whether it was way out custom cars, plastic Rat Fink dolls. air brushed t-shirts, model car kits, you name it he was ahead of the game at tapping into young kids brains. It was always way out wacky stuff which you kinda think how did he think of that crap. His mail order ads were just as offbeat, definitely not the kinda stuff your going to see these days in Tracks or Surfer magazine.

Anyway somewhere along the way he came up with the fibreglass surf nazi helmet complete with the Iron cross on the front, all in the meaning of fun and to piss off the kids parents and school teachers. Naturally the surf magazines who were and seem to be perennially trying to present surfing as a wholesome sport slandered them and said they were the sign of a kook. Then you start thinking it seems that the kooks have all the fun in this game and often in life, I say now surfing has got all adult and respectable its time to kook out and get some fun while you can, and if that means surfing in a Roth helmet go for it, there should be more of it.

The man himself Big Daddy Ed Roth on one of his custom trikes, getting some fun.