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The Begining
Matador surfboards started in 1961 by Surfing Hall of Fame's Richard Lisiewski. Richard made his first (wood hollow finless) surfboard in
the mid 1940s he started riding in Seaside NJ. after only using his board a few times his board blew off the car and was totally destroyed on his trip home. Remember there were no surf racks yet. So it was time to build another. This one came out slightly better than the first and was always tied on the car better. In fact we still have it today. He was rode this board all over from Atlantic City to Montauk NY. most of the time surfing alone. Then on a trip to California and Mexico he saw all the guys riding foam boards and he knew he had to have one. Back east it was hard to even find one in 1961 so he saw it as a business oppurtunity to turn a passion into a career.
Inspired by the surf and style of Mexico Richard took that experience and created the first Matador surfboard.
He wanted it to be more than his sport he wanted it to be a business. When choosing the name for his new line of boards, Richard wanted to exemplify what it meant to be a surfer: What it means to stand with style and grace in the face of danger. How one controls his fears while challenging the thundering surf. The name Matador captured the essence of surfing to Richard. Grace and style and strength - Matador. (In fact, surfing legend Miki Dora was known as the Matador of Malibu years later). 
The 1960's
Matador Surfboards went into mass production in 1962 after Richard's family sold off their bar and restaurant business. Along with partner Frank Collier, Richard established a factory in Riverside, NJ, utilizing his board making skills and incorporating his lifelong love of the ocean.
Richard and Frank went through a lot of trial and error in those early days. Richard had only made a handful of hollow wooden boards dating back to the 1940's. With Frank having honed his skills as a master woodworker, together they began carving and shaping out of foam and fiberglass. The two board makers learned to shape faster and more efficiently. As surfing's popularity grew, the handshaped Matadors became a "pop-out" for a couple years to meet demand and the custom boards that into Collier Custom Surfboards.
As their skills in making boards got better and better, the knowledge gained led them to branch out in their manufacturing business. They began to produce and ship not only surfboards, but also skateboards, belly boards, skimboards, wakeboards, and even buoys as well! They were blowing there own high density foam with the several molds they had on hand.
Soon the factory was making other labeled boards to meet the overwhelming demand of the times. Labels such as Continental, Curcio, WaveMaster, Pecks Beach, International, Cheetah, Manatee, Caribbean, Cutlas, and Seahorse are just a sampling of the labels produced in the Matador factory. The matador factory had close relationship with Foss foam their main supplier. They even had the rights to make Foss' brands on the east coast.
The Matador boards were well known for their solid heavy glassing (much heavier than the boards of today). They were also recognized (and copied) for the wood inlays that were done by Frank, as well as the stripes and figure eight stringers, and the innovative fin designs they created. Many of the big name surfboard labels of the 1960's integrated these designs into their own boards.
Companies like Kodak were using Matadors in there ads. S&H green stamps had Colliers in there catalog. Chevron gas stations were having
boards built to get attention for there gas stations. Things were great. even the big box store were starting to order boards.( Macys JC pennys etc.. )
But complaints of resin fumes in their first and second factories in 1965 & 1966 led to their evictions and halted the production of the Matadors. After producing thousands of boards, they could no longer meet the demands and the huge volume of orders they were receiving, as they could not find a suitable space for their factory. Facing possible lawsuits. Frank returned to woodworking, and Richard opened the Brant Beach Surf Shop on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. Richard continued to make a few custom-made Matadors, but the days of mass production were over and the molds were gone.
THE IN BETWEEN
Several shapers helped produced Matadors for us through the 70s, 80's , but only a handful were made. Some reproductions some customs some classics.
Today
The 90s , after finding just the right shapers and glassers, the Beast of the East rides again, better than ever! Using a combination of both classic and modern board design, Blending new and old - style and grace vs speed and agression, the Matadors are growing in popularity once again! Our price and quality has gained us the reputation of being one of the best boards and best values around. The designing and testing still takes place mostly at the Jersey Shore. but the factory is now out of state. Armed
with a huge collection of boards acquired over the last 40 years for reference and lots of the original templates and an old school meets new school attitude lots of best
riders now choose our boards. We bring out different designs every year.
Try for yourself…..Nothing else rides or lasts like a Matador!
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