Shawn Stussy is one of surfing’s most respected sell-outs. He was so successful, he ended up losing the rights to his own name.

Originally a board shaper from Laguna Beach, California, Stussy spent his early days in a haze of fibreglass dust, ganja and Bob Marley riddims.

He used his board shaping skills to subsidise his fashion aspirations. In fact, the famous Stussy logo was once just the signature he signed his boards with.

He began his rise to fashion icon by flogging merch out the back of his car around Laguna. It wasn’t until he sapped a whole bunch of inspiration from the New York and Tokyo Club and hip-hop scenes – where he met the likes of Keith Haring and Mick Jones from The Clash – that his steeze really took off.

Stussy became one of the biggest street wear labels of the 1980s and 90s, reaching a value of $17 million a year at one point (big for those times).

He eventually sold it off and with it, the use of his last name. He’s got a new shaping and design project now called S/Double.