Allison Cohen

Name: Allison Cohen

Age: 33 (b. ’77)

Location: Lake Worth, FL

Home Break:Lake Worth Pier, but do a lot of road trips the coast; original home break was Belmar, NJ

Years DK:Started DKing full-time in ‘97

Natural/Goofy: Goofy

Why DK:Reasons are endless…I’ve ridden shortboards, longboards, kneeboards, surfmats, paipos, and have fun on different wave riding vehicles, but there is no feeling like DK. I love the fun and the challenge. I prefer it over standup surfing cause I like having fins on my feet, you can do more maneuvers, it’s more practical, and just way more fun. As Scotty Carter once wrote about DK: “cheap, safe, and pitted; I‘m having a blast!”

Favourite DK riders:Some of my early inspirations were Fred Booth, Phil Harnsberger, Aka, & Maligs. These days, Dubb, Lackey, Bud, Hutaff…but there are way too many to list!

Favourite DK Movie/Section:With so many clips on YouTube nowadays, it’s hard to pick one. Any DK section with smooth style. I still have Fu Man Chu and The Untouchables on VHS, which were hugely inspirational (of course I can’t watch them cause my VCR is broken!)

Prefer Fronthand/Backhand:I like both equally, probably cause I was raised on beachbreaks. When learning, I actually found backside easier cause I could hold my line without sliding out. Each direction of course uses different pressure points, so they provide a different feeling, but I like both.

Favourite DK move: snap into reverse 360 (I don’t pull em that often); a clean, controlled carve; and just finding that sweet spot and zooming down the line in a solid DK stance

Future For DK (eg-moves,direction): Drawing cleaner lines, DK in bigger waves, and pushing the envelope with more technical maneuvers done smoothly. I’d like to see more women DKing…c’mon ladies, step it up!

DK Rippers At Your Local:These days I mostly surf with proners and standup surfers; I rarely see another DKer in the water unless I’m traveling

Shout Outs:Thanks to Vektor for designing the best DK board I’ve ever ridden, and thanks so much for creating this site for the DK community