The SPEED DEMON! The SPEED DEMON was an original …Lost Surfboards model—a model synonymous with full-on, pedal-to-the-metal, furiously fast, small-wave surfing. Originally developed with feedback from San Clemente Mafia maestro, Dino Andino, in the mid-1990s, it became one of our early, well-known models. Tuned at the long, sloping, flattish-faced waves of Trestles, with design details drawn from decades of down-the-line speed runs and big, head-snapping hacks. With its speed-centric low rocker, plenty of width and thickness, deep concave, and some vee running through the rear of Dino’s signature extra-wide tail block, the SPEED DEMON was one of the first models that we successfully sold through surf shops around the country and across the world. Cut to Spring 2025 Dino’s son, longtime design muse Kolohe, was focused on simply surfing local summer slop and occasional quality days around town. On small days, bouncing between Puddle Jumpers, Sub-Drivers, and Rad Rippers—all to great effect—with an emphasis on sustained speed for freedom to do whatever you want on lackluster waves. At one point we handed him a Rad Zapper, our collab with Cheyne Horan. At Trestles, he laid down some truly inspiring, classic, calm, cool power surfing with vicious flair and finesse, that rapidly went viral. As summer progressed, Kolohe came with a challenge: “I want something that sits between the Rippers, Rad Rippers, and Sub-Drivers that I’ve been riding.Built for crazy bursts of speed, with the wild wide tail of the Rad Zapper… but more normal looking. More normal feeling.No beaks or double-bump butt tails. Normal rails… and normal size. 5’10”, but wider and faster and gnarly. I want to fly.Built solely for speed… if I can get speed, I can turn.A full-on Speed Demon.Don’t worry about the turning.” Like so many times before, we went to work—attempting to reinvent the proverbial wheel. But not really. With Cheyne and the Rad Zapper, we learned just how speed-centric we can go: radically deep double concave that hooks into the rails, flat tail rocker, hints of no-nose templates, flat decks, and wider-than-wide tails. Tempering these assets and putting them into a more modest combination, while retaining proven small-wave elements from our long-standing traditions of Trestles-trained lateral speed machines. The first one brought rave reviews from Kolohe: “This thing makes me wanna do some comps this summer!” Broader Demand Meanwhile, our West Coast sales guru, Nate “Highest Rated Rep” Yeomans, was pressuring me to develop something similar: “Guys at shops are asking for a new small-wave, speed-specific shortboard that anyone could ride. Something you can just stand on and go fast.” Well damn… maybe we kill two birds with one board. Once the shape was where we wanted it, we adorned it with a vintage Mayhem logo—drawn and used for just a couple of years in 1990–1992, before settling into more mellow and commercially acceptable branding. Big, bold, and brash, bringing back one from the vaults that all the OGs will remember. Paired with matching color, torn tape rail sprays, for that grungy ’90s vibe. It’s a dark look that Lady G might like to lift. I don’t have any original Speed Demons in my possession, nor am I claiming that this new board has significant likeness to the original… but the name sure fits, and the model logo is still awesome. It’s really becoming tedious, trying to continuously come up with new model names all the time—so SPEED DEMON it is! A …Lost Surfboards classic, with brand equity, name recognition, and a vibe that perfectly describes what this board is all about.
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