Who Is CJ Nelson? The Santa Cruz Longboarder and His Boards
The Santa Cruz longboarder known for switch foot noseriding, and the designer behind CJ Nelson Designs.
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Quick answer: Mark "CJ" Nelson is a longboarder from Santa Cruz, California, known for smooth, stylish noseriding and for riding the nose switch foot, with either foot forward. He surfed in Thomas Campbell's films Sprout and The Present.
Today he designs boards under CJ Nelson Designs, built by Thunderbolt. For intermediate surfers, his Parallax Plus and Chameleon are the easiest places to start.
In This Guide
Where Did CJ Nelson Start?
CJ grew up in Santa Cruz, where his dad kept a garage full of boards of every shape. His father would switch from a small fish to a big longboard in one session, and kept fun as the top priority.
After winning a couple of longboard contests as a kid, CJ went to the Paskowitz Surf Camp at 12. Shapers and surfers like Israel Paskowitz and Herbie Fletcher became early mentors.
What Is CJ Nelson Known For?
Switch foot noseriding. In the late 1990s, CJ brought his switch skateboarding into longboarding and learned to noseride with either foot forward. He worked it out in Santa Cruz and refined it at Malibu.
Films. He surfed in Thomas Campbell's 2004 film Sprout, riding a classic noserider at Scorpion Bay, and in The Present and A Paradigm Shift.
Contest wins. After getting sober and back into surfing, he won the Mexi Log Fest and Joel Tudor's Duct Tape Invitational in Saladita, Mexico.
What Boards Does CJ Nelson Design?
CJ designs his boards with shaper Ryan Engle and others, and they are built by Thunderbolt, the construction made by his longtime friend Yu Sumitomo. Thunderbolt builds come in Red, Black and Silver constructions, which are construction names, not colors.
If you are an intermediate surfer, or moving up from beginner, start with the boards that paddle easily and forgive mistakes:
- Parallax Plus: an easy paddling longboard that turns from the middle.
- Chameleon: noserides like the Sprout and turns like the Parallax.
- Outlier: a fast, easy mid-length with longboard glide.
- Milo: a fun twin plus trailer fish.
- Sprout 2.0: a dedicated noserider.
- Slasher Low Pro: a single fin involvement longboard.
- Oracle: a 10'6" glider for small waves.
Why Does CJ Ride Thunderbolt?
CJ grew up riding his dad's heavy, traditionally glassed logs. He still loves that feel, and he was skeptical when an old friend brought him a new EPS build.
Yu Sumitomo invited him to Japan to test boards with different carbon layouts inside an EPS foam core. CJ and Harley Ingleby both picked the same one, and that became Thunderbolt. Read the full story in The Story Behind CJ Nelson's Thunderbolt Boards.
Which CJ Nelson Board Fits You?
Send us your height, weight, current board and home break and we will point you to the right model and size. Come by the shop to see them in person.
Hawaiian South Shore
320 Ward Ave, Suite #111, Honolulu, HI 96814
Call or text (808) 597-9055
sales@hawaiiansouthshore.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is CJ Nelson?
Mark "CJ" Nelson is a Santa Cruz longboarder known for smooth noseriding and riding the nose switch foot. He surfed in Thomas Campbell's films Sprout and The Present.
Where is CJ Nelson from?
Santa Cruz, California. He grew up surfing there and later refined his switch foot noseriding at Malibu.
What film is CJ Nelson known for?
Thomas Campbell's 2004 film Sprout, where he rode a classic noserider at Scorpion Bay. He also appears in The Present and A Paradigm Shift.
Who builds CJ Nelson surfboards?
Thunderbolt builds them, using the construction developed by his longtime friend Yu Sumitomo. CJ designs them with shaper Ryan Engle and others.
Which CJ Nelson board is best for an intermediate surfer?
Start with the Parallax Plus or Chameleon for a longboard, or the Outlier for a mid-length. They paddle easily and are forgiving.