Shaper Profile.
What a time, then we traveled up to Hollywood by the sea in Oxnard for some real juice and it was wild up there, localism and its fullest and we respected them and they allowed us to ride a few waves sometimes; it was where I ended up eventually but yeah, quite a quite an experience. Let me add a few names to that last list. Steve Slickenmeyer Chrissy Slickenmeyer, Wayne Miata, and Drew Harrison. I mean, tell you what, there was so much talent around there back then. That old 22nd Street thing all captured on film by Leroy Grannis when he wasn’t surfing was unbelievable.
WAYNE RICH
Can you remember the best wave you’ve ever ridden? Okay favorite wave or something ridden, I don’t know, I’m not much to talk about that stuff, but – where would it be? Beach break, point break, reef break... I can’t pick very easily there have been so many. I mean Hollywood by the Sea as big as the beach will handle, a left
UNDERGROUND SURFER/SHAPER WITH A RESUME 40 YEARS LONG, WAYNE RICH IS LOVED FOR HIS DEDICATION TO THE CRAFT.
morphed out from the middle of the beach with all the power shifting off the canyon. Yeah, I was riding an 8’4” gun and I got this backside tube ride that was just... I don’t know... Pretty crazy. That was back in the 90s, but there have been a lot of others that are different. That one comes to mind first. That was one of the highlights of my
State your name, occupation and the first thing you thought about this morning. Wayne Rich surfer, shaper, designer, fabricator, craftsman and I don’t know, artisan, mostly though, perpetual student. I think that’s mostly what I am. First thing I thought of this morning was visualizing dropping into a steep critical section of a wave. I always like to think about how the water flows over the rail on the inside rail, especially the way it holds us in control. And we can kind of play with it and feel that feeling of that water holding us. The tension of that water holding us up the face of the wave and releasing down and how we can transition it to the speed off the back of the board, the way water flows across the rail and the bottom of the board releasing behind us and allowing speed and freedom of movement, that kind of stuff just still fascinates me all the time. Tell us about your early surfing days. Early days of surfing Wow. I guess that would have to go back to my mother. Roberta. She was an early water woman and put me under my very first wave at three years old. She taught me not to be afraid. She got us all writing little air mattresses and little paipo belly boards and things. My friends Mike Pace, Bruce Tuttle and I used to try to stand up on those things; we’d try to surf those little things. We’d surf those mats, we would air them up real full and blow them up at the gas station trying to air them up so we could stand up on them. And then as things went on, by the time we were eight or nine we started riding regular surfboards, and they were big, heavy things. It was a man’s sport at the time. It was tough. It was just a tough time. Boards were crazy. But Redondo Breakwater all the way to Hermosa Pier was my main area, growing up with all my friends. Along with Mike Pace and Bob Binky, Mike ran the Bing shop later on and Ben Dixon, we used to surf 10th street a lot. They called it the dime back then. Going up into 22nd Street during those early days. It was neat to go up there as a kid and watch all those guys, Dewey, David Nuuhiwa, Donald Takayama, Leroy Grannis, Skipper Fouts Harwood, Henry Ford, Ricky hatch, Darrell Dickey, John Baker, Alfred laws, I mean Bing Copeland all of them were up there. It was quite a time you could actually drink on the beach back then so it was pretty wild, so to be influenced by all of them, Danny, Bendickson, and Phil Becker. And you know, they were all up there. It was it was quite a time. And Henry Ford claims it was where hot dog surfing was invented, 22nd Street Hermosa. That’s his claim. I’d say he’s pretty accurate. It was a neat thing to be around Dennis. As we got into the 70s it was, you know, more of the breakwater and Southside of Hermosa Peir for me Mike Pace ripping it up with Bobby Ricola at the Break Water. There were a lot of great local guys.
life. With that crew of guys. just heavy people. Heavy respect. Heavy power. And I’ve almost lost my life twice on that beach. So, I guess that one would rate pretty high. Okay favorite wave or something ridden, I don’t know I’m not much to talk about that stuff but, where would it be? Beach break, point break, reef break... I can’t pick very easily there have been so many. I mean Hollywood by the Sea as big as the beach will handle, a left morphed out from the middle of the beach with all the power shifting off the canyon. Yeah, I was riding an 8’4” gun and I got this backside tube ride that was just... I don’t know... Pretty crazy. That was back in the 90s, but there have been a lot of others that are different. That one comes to mind first. That was one of the highlights of my life. With that crew of guys. Just heavy people. Heavy respect. Heavy power. And I’ve almost lost my life twice on that beach. So I guess that one would rate pretty high. Can you expand upon the importance of Oxnard in your life? My best friend Mike Pace dragged me out or Hermoza because I was on a bad path with the drugs and alcohol. He got me up there and then I got a bunch of trouble up this way and got locked up several times and was looking at a lot of problems and figured it out by the help of a lot of friends the grace of God and the 12 step program and stuff like that as mandated for all that stuff. The raw power of Hollywood by the Sea was a great place to immerse you know, the humility of what I was going through and just paddling out there will humble you. And so it’s very much like life and so that beach to me because of the locals there they they were good enough to take me in and allow me to be a part of something really special at the end of the true localism there and it was really a special place from all standpoints. It’s got so much power, it’s got just such a heavy feeling in the water and the vibe and there’s so much sea life around there too, makes it really interesting and it just an ominous power in all ways, so it it helped guide my life and the people down there really helped me understand what was important about life.
