Skateboarding let its belt out in the last years of the 1970s as pool and skate park vert riding demanded wider and wider boards. How wide? Sims Team manager Kirk Putnam designed a 12-inch-wide monster for riders with size 13 and up shoe sizes.

Tom Sims: “A solid fiberglass board that someone gave me. It had no flex. I like flex.”

Tom Sims rocking a longboard in the hills of Malibu, 2006. Photo courtesy Tom Sims.

“This is the five-footer that I ride now, because it feels like snowboarding and surfing. If I had my own skateboard company I’d be building them. I made this board out of an old Sims snowboard. I think it’s a Tracker on the front and an Indy on the back.” Board courtesy Tom Sims.

Side view of Tom Sims’ modern five-footer. Board courtesy Tom Sims.

Deck view of Tom Sims’ modern five footer. Board courtesy Tom Sims.

The deck of a Sims Lonnie Toft model made of maple plys
in Canada at Wee Willy Winkles. Board courtesy Tom Sims.

Board courtesy Tom Sims.

Sims SuperPly Model 12.0. Board courtesy Tom Sims.

A vintage Sims Taperkick, made by Mike Plunkett for Sims.
Board courtesy Tom Sims.

Board courtesy Tom Sims.