Dick Metz and Sherry Novak making a TV movie in 1965 in Waikiki , Hawaii
Metz in front of the Hobie shop on Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu in 1961
time . “ At his funeral , when I got up and gave a speech on Hobie , I said , ‘ Hobie and I never had a written contract . I don ’ t even know if we ever shook hands over it . Hobie just used to say , ‘ If it ’ s good for you , it ’ s good for me .’ … And that was the great relationship you can ’ t have in today ’ s world . … I mean he trusted me , I trusted him and that was enough said . I think that ’ s important , there again showing the difference between the culture , the lifestyle , the attitudes , the way we lived then [ and ] how we have to live now . It ’ s so different .”
PRESERVING HISTORY During his time with the Hobie shops , Metz had collected a bunch of old surfboards that he used as decor in the stores above the clothing , wetsuits and surfboards .
“ So , when I sold all the stores , I didn ’ t sell the surfboards ,” Metz says . “ And I shipped them all from Hawaii over here . And then I started a foundation called Surfing Heritage Foundation . In Laguna , I rented — not an office , … [ but ] a desk within an office … across from the art museum .”
Metz says the nonprofit was started in 1999 and didn ’ t have a building until around 2003 . And then , thanks to a fundraising campaign in which 100 friends each donated $ 6,000 , the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center opened in its current building in San Clemente in 2004 .
At the same time , Metz says , he became friends with Spencer Croul , a surfboard collector whose dad owned the Behr paint company . “ See , I had old surfboards and Spencer had collected a lot of newer ones . So when we added his collection to my collection , it made the best collection in the world , by far ,” Metz says .
And Metz wanted to share it with the world . “ I thought , I ’ ve lived this whole period and watched surfboards grow from the heavy wooden ones … to the present foam ones of 5 pounds , saw the surfboard industry change , the shops change [ and the introduction of surf ] clothing ,” Metz says .
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center ’ s museum features a large room filled with surfboards to show their evolution through time , from Kahanamoku ’ s personal boards to modern , high-performance boards that have been ridden by recent world champions . And other special exhibits come and go , from women ’ s influence on surfing to the shortboard ’ s evolution , the impact of surf shops on local culture and surfing in cinema . “ We ’ ve had trunk shows in the museum — how trunks have evolved from M . Nii ’ s to present-day trunks . T-shirts , obviously I have all those , [ and ] aloha shirts .
“… I ’ ve been involved in it since day one and it just seemed like the public should know about it [ and ] be aware of it . The surf industry should be aware of it . And so I wanted to start a museum that would save these artifacts like every other industry has .”
The center also serves as a repository of magazines and books about surfing , which is often used by researchers . “ It ’ s an archive of the whole industry ,” he says .
Currently located inland a ways , the center ’ s building is owned free and clear so there ’ s no need to move , but in the future , Metz would like to have at least an outpost in a more coastal spot with greater visibility , perhaps in Dana Point or Laguna Beach . “ I think people should know . … Laguna was a fundamental part of how it all started . Hobie Surfboards started here . Other surfboard makers were here ,” Metz says , explaining how they moved to unincorporated Dana Point once fiberglass , resin and foam started being used because the zoning rules were more lax for manufacturing there .
Of course , surfing took off and is now embraced around the globe , and Metz witnessed its transformation firsthand .
“ Surfing has had a huge impact on world culture and lifestyle ,” he says . “ I mean guys in Europe and Kansas and Africa are wearing surf clothes . Through the movies and the magazines , they all want to be surfers . It had such a huge impact , I thought it was really important to tell that story .” /
COURTESY OF SURFING HERTIAGE AND CULTURE CENTER / DICK METZ COLLECTION / SHACC . ORG
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