I just received my copy of the new book from Joe Dunn titled “Lifestyle Retail, the Hobie Surf Shop Story.” I had been eager to see this one as I spent many years working at, around, and with the Hobie Surf Shop in Dana Point, in one form or another. I was shop boy, salesman, manager and also ran the Hobie Surf Team out of there.
This was all back in the 1960s. Wonderful place to be at that time and surrounded by all sorts of cool people.
This is a great read. It unravels the stories of a number of totally classic people who are all part of the story of how the Hobie Surf Shop came to be and what it was and shares many of the great stories that came from a pioneering generation of surfers from the Orange County area.
A lot of it tells about the involvement of Dick Metz (“Dicka doo doo,” as he is called by his friends — and I am very happy to consider myself one). Dick’s dad had a café in Laguna Beach and from hanging out there and on the beaches he became pals with Brennen “Hevs” McClelland and George “Peanuts” Larson. These are two of the most colorful dudes in the history of surfing.
From his friendship with them he got into surfing and met the likes of Hobie Alter, Renny Yater and Gordon “Grubby” Clark. More surfing royalty.
After college, Dick took off and traveled all through Africa, hitchhiking a lot of the time. When he got back to California, Hobie Alter convinced him to move to Honolulu and open the first “away from home” Hobie shop, at 1475 Kapiolani Blvd.
I spent some happy times in there during my first summer in Hawaii, swept up after closing sometimes and met a few fun girls. It seemed a lot of them tended to swarm around Dick, so it turned out to be a kinda extra benefit of being the sweeper.
From his travels in Africa, it was actually Dick that tipped off Bruce Brown to the “perfect wave” at Cape Saint Francis, which became the focal point of his epic surf film “The Endless Summer.”
Dick also was a big part, along with Hobie and Grubby Clark, of the early experimentation in foam surfboard blanks that changed surfing dramatically in the late 1950s. He is one of those dudes who actually had his hand in the history and growth of surfing, especially with the Hobie company.
The Hobie shop was a fixture on Coast Highway in Dana Point, with all kinds of interesting characters working there at one time or another. Butch Van Artsdalen was once the repair guy out back, along with Gaylord Vermilyea.
One of my favorite guys was Jim Gilloon. Jim was the shop manager when I first worked there as a shop rat. He later took over as general manager of the Hobie surfboards company. Jim was a good surfer and fun to work for — pretty easy on a sassy little surf punk who more often deserved a slap in the face than a pat on the back.
The shop evolved over the years from a hardcore surf hut into a smoothly functioning retail store. Both Hobie and Dick became very involved in the Hobie catamarans and sailing became a big part of the whole picture for both of them.
More Hobie stores opened and it became the business of selling the lifestyle that so many guys like Dick and Hobie contributed to. And the tradition continues.
You really should get a copy of the book; I know it’s available through the Hobie Surf Shops.
Ask the expert
Q. What is the difference between a “modern” longboard and a “traditional” longboard? I have to admit, they all look pretty much the same to me.
Stan McCleary, Brea
A. In this day and age there are actually a lot of choices when it comes to longboard shapes and designs.
What is considered a “traditional” configuration is sort of a combination of both shape and materials. The shape tends to have not much nose rocker but with some kick in the tail, is fairly wide and medium to thick, and has a concave or very flat underside to the nose. Most are single fins. They are also glassed with two layers of cloth and sometimes also with a deck patch. This makes them a bit heavier.
“Modern” longboards tend to be a bit lighter and thinner for the most part, and can have three fins or one. There are extreme versions of these that have a ton of rocker and are very thin and narrow. Personally speaking, I don’t like that design much.
There ya go — that is the short version.
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