Murphy, Matthew "Spider"
Quiet and diligent surfboard shaper from Durban, South Africa; best remembered for providing the mid-1970s boards upon which fellow Durbanite Shaun Tomson reinvented both frontside and backside tuberiding. "If Spider had lived in the United States," Tomson later said, "he'd have been recognized as the top shaper in the world." Murphy was born (1947) and raised in Durban, began surfing at age 12 o...
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Spider Murphy, 2004. Photo: Grant EllisSubscribe to view
Spider Murphy, Cave Rock, early '80s. Photo: Pat FlanaganSubscribe to view
Shaun Tomson on the Spider Murphy-shaped "pink banana," Pipeline, 1975. Photo: Lance TroutSubscribe to view
Spider Murphy (left) and George Thomopoulos, 1985Subscribe to view
Martin Potter, 15, with MR Model twin-fin shaped by Spider MurphySubscribe to view
Mark Price, Cave Rock, 1980, on a Spider Murphy-shaped boardSubscribe to view
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/0a2577a10a11dcc56ce1b614d1f0e413dcc9e22e-533x900.jpg?rect=0,0,533,300&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Spider Murphy, 2004. Photo: Grant Ellis
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/91f490297f0882c499fb8e24cfa244cb192cadf0-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Spider Murphy, Cave Rock, early '80s. Photo: Pat Flanagan
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/4115671af374bfda66141d845ecacf9085c79a93-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Shaun Tomson on the Spider Murphy-shaped "pink banana," Pipeline, 1975. Photo: Lance Trout
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2b1d1f976e2e540f2294dbfabec8bcfcf5cdc509-900x887.jpg?rect=0,21,900,506&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Spider Murphy (left) and George Thomopoulos, 1985
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/90bdc5e04840658998c63a31b1fc9b7f6d75374e-544x900.jpg?rect=0,5,544,306&w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Martin Potter, 15, with MR Model twin-fin shaped by Spider Murphy
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/f1hjpcr4/production/2dd96753c63c6a7805524c92c548070cbd368dd9-900x506.jpg?w=640&h=360&q=65&auto=format)
Mark Price, Cave Rock, 1980, on a Spider Murphy-shaped board