It all started for Shawn Stussy when his older sister gave him and old surfboard. Not too happy with the shape he stripped of the fiberglass and reshaped it into something a little more to his liking. This was a pivotal moment for Stussy and it set Shawn off on a path of surfboard shaping and production. He would bunk off school and go to Chuck Dent's surf shop on Huntingdon Beach were he worked shaping boards.
The late 1970's saw Shawn traveling to the mountains in the winter to ski. Then return to his surfing roots in the summer months to surf and shape. By 1980 he had set up his own shop, the legendary Stussy logo we see today was being scrawled in pen on top of his boards before they were glassed.
The problem with surf board shaping was that he could only make one every couple of days, he need someway to supplement his income. He started to screen print the Stussy logos onto t-shirts and hooded tops. This clothing line was taken on board by the subcultures of hip hop and graffiti that were emerging in the US at the time. The rest as they say is history.
Shawn Stussy says the Stussy brand is not called 'surf wear' or 'street wear'. He states 'I don't name it, and I don't name it on purpose'