By: Jesse Jones

Ben Aipa and Dylan Kowalski remind me of the relationship between french fries and a chocolate Frosty from Wendy’s.  You may not expect the combination to be paired together, but once you think about it, it makes all the sense in the world.

The first time I saw a friend plunge a fry into a Frosty, I was confused, maybe even baffled.  After he dipped, life went into slow motion.

He took the fry out.

His hand crept towards his face.

His mouth opened.

With lips agape, the french fry and frosty were cautiously inserted.

I realized, he was going to eat them together.

With my friends’ mouth about to shut, things slowed down to the point where I was able to have a mental conversation and everything became so clear. In the span of half-a-second, I said to myself, “I like french fries. Hmm… I like chocolate shakes, too. Maybe they would go well together. You get that whole salty and sweet thing going on… can’t go wrong there. Plus, anything dipped in chocolate is good isn’t it?”

As my brain raced time to make sense of what was happening, my eyes told me the deposit had been made.

I remember him smiling as he digested the delicacy, but I could have made this part up as a result of psychological embellishment. While I’m not sure he actually smiled, in my mind his grin stretched from ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

So while a bit different, I had to try it.

I wouldn’t have thought the two would be such a blissful combination, but as soon as the duo hit my taste buds, I realized what a fine couple they were when joined. That’s the way it is; sometimes you just don’t know when certain things will work well together unless you give it a go.

Enter Ben Aipa and Dylan Kowalski.

Training an unassuming kid from the East Coast is unusual for legendary surfer, shaper, and coach Ben Aipa. That, however, was all the more reason for Aipa to take fifteen-year-old Dylan Kowalski under his wing just over a year ago.

“I’ve gone against the grain. I’ve gone for the underdog,” Aipa explained early on in our interview. “I’ve been doing this a long time, it is something I feel strongly about.”

Like Jefferson and Adams are to U.S. history, Ben Aipa is intrenched in surfing’s progression and development.

With his ability and intimidating size, a younger Aipa was both respected and feared on Oahu. In The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Matt Warshaw sums up Aipa’s presence as a surfer thirty years ago, stating, “He was also one of the era’s fiercest-looking surfers, helping him to get virtually any wave he wanted, even in the most crowded of Hawaiian lineups.”

Aipa’s career is full of personal successes not only as a surfer, but as a shaper and coach as well. Ben started Aipa Surfboards in 1970 and during that decade, his boards were ridden by the top Hawaiian surfers including Larry Bertlemann, Michael Ho, Buttons Kaluhiokalani, Dane Kealoha and Mark Liddell.

Aipa is credited with assisting in the progression of boards. It was Aipa who invented the stinger and the swallowtail, both of which were designed to help this contingent of Hawaiian surfers break out of the boundaries set by the shapes of the older styles. He has also been influential in the evolution of the modern performance longboard.

While the stereotypical portrayal of Hawaiian surfers has been one full of exclusivity, casting aside those from the mainland and beyond, Aipa has been able to break that mold. Others from outside the Aloha State, most notably Australia’s Mark Richards, began riding his shapes. Richards won four straight world championships from 1979-1983 and Aipa’s influence and success as a shaper has only continued to grow.

It has been a mission of Aipa’s to act as a mentor, to help people become the best they can be, and not just in the ocean. Aipa has also coached football, his passion as a kid before he started surfing. Regardless if it’s centered on catching waves or touchdowns, Aipa prides himself on teaching and motivating others so that they can fulfill their dreams.

“I saw something,” Aipa said of Dylan. “So many kids have skills and ability, but don’t know how to get it out. I try to find the crack, so I can get it out.”

Dylan Kowalski began his conquest to become a professional surfer in the playful waves at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina, but after spending much of the past two winters in Hawaii under Aipa’s tutelage, his surfing has grown by leaps and bounds. Dylan has had top finishes in Florida, the Outer Banks, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii… and that was just during the spring of what has been an already impressive 2009 season.

Ben Aipa has seen all of the local young talent develop in the Islands, and has also seen many East Coast groms come to Hawaii on their way to becoming world class surfers.

Aipa admitted it is tough going from the Atlantic shores to Hawaii and surfing with the locals, or ‘animals’ as Aipa described them.

According to Aipa, “People used to laugh at Kelly.” He told the story of how this young Floridian kid showed up on the North Shore, the jungle of surfing. Kelly Slater has since gone on to win the World Championship nine times, and not to Aipa’s surprise. “My son told me, ‘hey, this guy is going to be good’.” After a bit of a pause, Aipa added, “Kelly is a freak of nature.”

While other East Coasters like Shea Lopez have grabbed Aipa’s eye through the years, it is Dylan Kowalski that Aipa decided to help achieve success as a professional surfer.

Initially, when he first met Dylan, Aipa said, “I saw little sparks. I had to be patient enough to get more sparks.”

Over the years, Ben Aipa has seen plenty of talented young surfers like Kowalski. “Sometimes the kid has a gift, you just have to bring it out.”

Training world class surfers isn’t something one goes to college for; in fact, Ben Aipa has taught himself to become a trainer. “I’ve learned by watching.”

And what of his young protege who comes from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina? “He can set the path. He’s got to know how to pursue it, and if I can help…it would be fun.”

Dylan has been posting top results in ESA and NSSA events recently and has announced he will be joining the ASP Jr. Pro Series. It is a big step, but one Dylan says he is ready for. “I have a great support system behind me, including my coach Ben Aipa who has been pushing me to the next level with my surfing.”

With family in Hawaii and training with Team USA in California since 2006, Dylan has been gaining invaluable experience in the swells of the Pacific Ocean.

That, combined with some mentoring from a icon, has propelled Dylan to the top of the ESA and NSSA rankings. Dylan is 3rd overall in the ESA Mid-Atlantic/Puerto Rico Open Men’s Division, and is 1st overall in the NSSA Mid-Atlantic Open Junior Division. Dylan also surfs in the NSSA Hawaii region and advanced to the Open Mens final, claiming third place overall, in the first event of the ‘09-’10 season.

While Aipa is already world renowned and earned his place in any book relative to the history of surfing, there are still chapters being written… territory still to cover.

For Dylan, born in 1994, there are endless possibilities and the future is waiting to be constructed, rising up from the foundation that has been laid.

For Ben, born in 1942, there are still accomplishments being crossed off the list as his high-rise reaches closer and closer to the sky. Through the years, things change and some of these goals wouldn’t have been predicted years ago. “I think it would be nice to spread a little of my thing on the East Coast,” said Aipa who was inducted to the Surfing Hall of Fame in 1991. While Aipa influence has been well felt in the Aloha State, Dylan Kowalski is the rare benefactor of the Hawaiian tutelage.

Ben has caught thousands of waves since, shaped boards since 1966, coached surfers for over 20 years. He shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, he looks for an underdog, defies the norm, and appreciates challenge. After all, Ben Aipa has just started on a new journey with Dylan Kowalski, and while Dylan is a humble and soft-spoken kid from a small beach town in North Carolina, his surfing speaks volumes.

The two are very different. From age, to where they come from, to their physical presence in the water… Ben and Dylan are about as opposite as a french fry and a milkshake, but sometimes an odd couple makes for a winning combination.