Ben Aipa was an iconic surfer shaper, who founded his own brand of Aipa Surfboards in the 70s, and was known for making a statement in the water and with his unique shapes. His claim to fame was the Sting, which evolved the existing standard of performance surfing at the time. Ben also was the founder of other innovative designs, including the doubled-edged swallowtail followed by the split-tail design in 1974. Sadly, Ben Aipa recently passed away but the brand lives on through his youngest son Duke and they continue to create fresh designs to keep his legacy going.

Nigel Simmens personally met Ben Aipa during his travels to Hawaii as a professional surfer. He was lucky enough to have a custom early sting model  surfboard designed and shaped by the man himself.