OC Leader Board: The Frank Sinatra of the Surf Industry

Editor’s Note: Shaheen Sadeghi, who won a Business Journal Family-Owned Business Award in May, is the founder and CEO of LAB Holding LLC in Costa Mesa, which became known for creating some of Orange County’s trendiest shopping spots, including Costa Mesa’s Camp and the Anaheim Packing District food hall. He wrote this Leader Board article about Walter Hoffman, who died July 9 at age 92. The Business Journal’s annual special report on the Innovator of the Year Awards begins on page 13.

When I was in my twenties in the early 1970s, I was an apprentice to the great American couturier Charles James. We worked late into the evening at The Chelsea Hotel in New York, where he lived. Charles James told me something that has stayed with me all my life:

• Have a secret passion and create something for yourself like no one else matters or is watching.

• Find a role model who inspires you, who you admire and learn as much as you can from his or her life.

Walter Hoffman was that person for many of us. He defined what it meant to be a role model in the Action Sports industry. As the Ojibwe tribe would say, he was a “dream catcher,” a symbol of protection and comfort for the tribe, the Surf Tribe.

The Hoffman Trendsetter

Walter and his brother Flippy grew up surfing in San Onofre and the very popular Malibu.

Walter enlisted in the Navy, which stationed him at Pearl Harbor. Surfing in Hawaii made such an impression on him that he sent video footage back to Flippy, who immediately booked a trip there. They were the first to rent a house at Sunset Point on the North Shore, which would become legendary in the surfing industry. He and his brother Flippy were two of the early pioneers of big waves in California. Walter’s daughter Joyce Hoffman was probably the best female surfer of the 1960s, and was also the first woman to surf Hawaii’s infamous Banzai Pipeline.

Walter’s parents opened a textile company in Southern California in 1924. By the late 1950s, the Hoffman brothers were running the family business, Hoffman California Fabrics, which they eventually moved to the Dana Point area. Walter became known as the father of the surfwear industry by producing aloha shirts and board shorts. A Hoffman shirt worn by Tom Selleck on “Magnum PI” is now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

What’s so fascinating is how this legend touched so many people in the 50s, then the 60s and the 70s and even into modern times. He was like the Frank Sinatra of surfing, where he inspired so many people.

Hoffman experimented with new surfboard manufacturing methods and passed on much of his knowledge to Hobart “Hobie” Alter, who founded the Hobie Surfboards stores in the 1950s. Hobie was the first manufacturer to develop polyurethane foam surfboard blanks, which overnight transformed surfing from heavy redwood boards to lighter, more portable boards. Hobie went on to develop skateboards, beachwear, and one of the world’s most popular sailboats, “the Hobie Cat.”

Another was Dick Metz, who opened Hobie Surfboards in Hawaii, where it became the state’s first surf shop in 1960. Metz was known for discovering South Africa’s Cape St. Francis. Metz suggested to Bruce Brown, a Dana Point filmmaker who was planning a world-wide film project, that he and his crew visit Cape St. Francis. The result was “the perfect wave” – ​​a scene that became iconic in a movie that made surfing famous worldwide – “Endless Summer.”

Hoffman was there at the beginning of the surfing industry, helping others who would later become legends, such as John Severson, founder of Surfer magazine, Bob McKnight, co-founder of Quiksilver, and Gordon “Grubby” Clark, founder of Clark Foam.

“When they weren’t partying, members of what became known as the ‘Dana Point Mafia’ were busy building surfing-related businesses that planted the seeds for the surfing industry,” the Wall Street Journal reported in its obituary of Walter last month.

The Authenticity of Hoffman

I first encountered the Hoffman family in the 1970s when I was the head of men’s products for Jantzen Sports Wear. We were the largest swimwear company in the world at the time. Our season wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Hoffman Library and a soul-searching chat with Walter and his team.

Hoffman and his extended family were a huge part of the industry for decades, not only as fabric suppliers, but as mentors to many of us. The Hoffmans would literally bring people into business and pay their bills just to grow the pool and get more people excited about surfing and surf culture. Their generosity was felt throughout the industry and around the world.

In the 80s I became the head of product and executive vice president of Gotcha Sports Wear. Again, our collection would never be complete without the Hoffman touch of authenticity. As surfing expanded and became more international, trends changed, but we never compromised and always presented a collection that had the Hoffman energy and that signature stamp of authenticity.

The Hoffman Bali Experience

My fondest memory from this period in my career was when I went to Bali in the 80’s to visit Walter’s factory. I went with one of my surf trunk designers, Jack Denny, a great surfer and a “crazy” guy about Bali. An American named Tim, who was living in Bali at the time, picked us up at the airport in Kuta. He drove us deep into the jungle of Bali, where he and Walter had set up a local textile printing company to support the local art of Batik.

It was amazing to see how Tim and the Hoffmans had brought their touch of California and Hawaii surf to the local Balinese art form. His style was never invasive; they made the locals proud of their art and at the same time created many jobs on the island for the locals.

On the other side of the planet we couldn’t wait to get our hands on Hoffman Indo Batik fabrics. We loved the handmade nature of the textiles and the imperfections that told the story of truly handmade designs. All the perfect printing techniques went out the door. The tribal vibe has always been a big part of surfing and we started using Batiks for everything from board shorts, shirts, jackets and bags. It was such an exciting time and change in the industry.

The next few weeks were spent visiting the island, finding secret local surf spots and fishing to make fresh sushi. We embraced the culture, broke bread with the locals and got hooked on Gado-gado, the local food. I sent back a container full of Balinese furniture.

We’ve officially had the full Hoffman experience.

Later as president of Quiksilver and in the 90s the same patterns emerged. We never completed a collection without the Hoffmans, who were an essential part of Quiksilver.

In the surf industry we always say that authenticity is not for sale, it has to be earned. I think Walter Hoffman earned it many times over. There were only a handful of people who were the “mothers of invention” in the surf industry here in California. Walter and his family were one of them. The man was truly a legend who left a huge mark on the surf world. As Frank Sinatra would say, “I did it my way.” Walter did it his way.

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