Fred Simpson

Fred Simpson, the inventor of Viper Surfing Fins graduated High School at 17.

Fred Lifeguarded at Long Beach for many years and was a swimmer and water polo player at UCLA.

He met a man named Don Redington at The Wedge in 1962. Don (AKA "The White Whale") was an All -America swimmer at USC and like Fred loved bodysurfing The Wedge. Fred was at The Wedge one day talking to Ron Romanoski- a big wave kneeboarder, shaper and photographer. Ron has been a member of the infamous "Wedge Crew" since 1962. After returning from his combat tour of duty in the Vietnam, Fred showed Ron a balsawood model of the fin. Ron suggested to Fred that he should show it to Don Redington. Don loved the design and together they created Pacific South Swell- the parent company of Viper Surfing Fins. Fred perfected the Patented design through hardcore testing in California's most challenging wave and got the fins on the feet of some of the most talented bodysurfers and bodyboarders to ever challenge The Wedge!

JP Patterson

Born and raised on O'ahu Hawaii, JP Patterson was one of the early riders of Tom Morey's new "Boogie" board and was one of the sport's first professional riders. He excelled at the sport from the shorebreak at Sandy Beach to the hallowed hollows of the Banzai Pipeline, and gained worldwide recognition in the 80s by pushing the limits of big-wave bodyboarding in treacherous conditions at Waimea Bay with some of the most revered big wave surfers of the time on one of the biggest days ever encountered. He also continued to compete, winning the first-ever pro bodyboarding event ever held at Pipeline in 1980.

By the mid 80s, JP had moved into an industry position designing and building bodyboards and was the first to put channels on the bottom of his board. He also was a sales representative and managed marketing and promotions for a couple large bodyboarding company's, but Viper has been synonymous with JP since he was sponsored by Viper in 1981. He now moves into his role as the worldwide Viper licensee at Shore Break Surf, managing sales and promotion of the brand.