Our Heritage
DORSAL® — Built in the Water Since 1999
In late 1999, Mark King walked up to local surfers on the Southern beaches of California with a simple idea: performance surfboard fins that actually outperform — built from superior materials, engineered for real conditions.
A conversation with the nearby Dewey Weber Surf Shop confirmed what Mark already knew. The need was real. DORSAL was born.
The premise was straightforward but powerful: give surfers the ability to change their fin setup to match the waves, the board, and their own style — without being locked into a fixed system. Better fins mean easier riding, smarter travel, and a surfboard that performs differently simply by swapping a template or material.
DORSAL launched to the domestic market in early 2000, expanded into Europe and Australia in 2001, and went global in 2004. The first DORSAL fin was patented shortly after — and quickly became the world standard for removable longboard fins. Today, it remains the strongest, most successful, and most widely used longboard fin system in the world.
In 2010, the Ventral Pro Series raised the bar again — a superior template with improved weight and strength over anything else on the market. Since its global release in 2012, countless events have been won on DORSAL fins.
Why surfers choose DORSAL:
- Swap fin templates or materials to match conditions, boards, weight, and ability
- Remove fins to pack boards flat for travel and shipping
- Access the widest range of fins available in more locations than any other brand
- Fins engineered to break at the tabs before damaging your board or your body
Over 25 years of R&D has refined every detail — from the original I-pattern and inline screw system to an extensive range of fins in varied materials, templates, and foils for every surfer and every board.
Today, DORSAL operates across several continents with offices in Australia, France, Japan, Hawaii, California, and Florida — dedicated to designing and manufacturing the most innovative surfing hardware on the planet.