The bolt, we love the bolt, and the bolt is back! Lightning Bolt was one of the original surf brands, founded in Hawaii in the early 1970s by Gerry Lopez and Jack Shipley. You may remember some images of the iconic Lightning Bolt boards, like the one pictured below. After a hiatus of sorts, Lightning Bolt was re-launched in 2009 with the help of surf legend Jonathan Paskowitz.
The company reached its prime in the '70s and '80s, but in the mid-80’s the company changed ownership. A Portuguese textile company called TMG-SA, purchased the rights to Lightning Bolt and focused on Europe. But last year, they hooked up with Jonathan Paskowitz and “after much research and design work, the design team created a line to re-launch with, based on original graphics and silhouettes, modified with modern and trendy colorways and color combinations.” According to the company, “Lightning Bolt has stayed authentic and true to its roots by offering a quality collection of classic boardshorts; graphic tees and tanks; windbreakers; walk shorts; pants and button downs for men and a collection of unisex tees and tanks that women can enjoy as well.”
So, we asked, is the brand still a brand by surfers for surfers? “Absolutely, Jonathan Paskowitz is the president of Lightning Bolt, USA and headed up the re-launch more than a year ago”, they said. “He’s made it his mission to be sure that the collection was re-launched as authentically as possible and has maintained the nostalgia attached to the brand. The design and sales teams are also active in surf and have made it a goal of theirs to be sure that the product is not only authentic and fashionable in design but functional for surf as well.”
Lightning Bolt has re-created its original collection, and because they re-created the collection, the boardshorts are a shorter length “with a vintage feel, and they also are made from premium fabrications and rather than featuring a 4-way technical stretch, feature a quality cotton twill fabrication in some styles.” Sounds good to us.
You can find Lightning Bolt products online here http://lightningbolt-usa.com/bolt/, and at various surf shops and retail stores across the US. You can find the list of stores here.
