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In February I had the opportunity
to interview Pat while watching him gulp down a burrito.
Pat put his life into precise chronological order. By
the time it was over not only did I have a great respect
for him but was also exhausted from taking lengthy notes
(he was making sure I got it all).
Pat Ryan was born in San Diego in 1953. At age 11 he
moved to Manhattan Beach where he learned how to do
a lot of things, including surf. It all started at the
Cove (Palos Verdes for the not so knowledgeable) where
he would spend endless hours perfecting his ripping
skills. His long "gangly" stature and surf
style soon earned the Gumby nickname that has stuck
with him for years
At age 15, Pat got a job working at Greg Noll's shop
on PCH (currently where the Folded Wings building is
at the top of Pier Ave. in Hermosa Beach) selling boards
and gear. As time went on he would begin to hang out
at the factory on Valley. Soon enough he was doing ding
repair while watching guys like Kip Okomoto and Gary
Arnie shape boards for Noll. It wasn't long until Greg
himself began teaching Pat the art of a shaping. This
was about the time of the short board revolution from
Australia and Hawaii (circa 1969).
As surfing began to take a radical new path, so did
the shapers. As Pat put it "we began following
the Hawaiian shapers like Ben Aipa and George Downing,
shaping gunny short boards." Pat and other shapers
watched the entire transition from long to short. By
1970 Pat was shaping short boards for Greg Noll.
In 1971, Pat and Eddie opened E.T. Surfboards not far
from its current location on Aviation Boulevard in Hermosa
Beach. Pat shaped all of the boards for the shop, "mostly
round tail single fins, wingers and diamond tails".
In 1974, Ben Aipa called upon Pat and Eddie to shape
all the Town & Country boards. "It was cool,
we were making mostly Bertelman stingers." Pat
expressed a fond memory "Bertelman came out, surfed
in a Katin contest and our shop rat, Matt Warshaw, beat
him in a heat". Amongst the shops team riders was
Dennis Jarvis, who would spend a lot of time in the
shaping room with Pat.
In the late 70's Pat continued to shape and grew more
interested in volleyball. So much that it consumed most
of "compulsive behavioral" time. Did you go
anywhere with it? "I made $75.00 in 6 years".
Good thing you kept shaping.
By the mid 80's Pat again found a new sport to perfect
(of course while still shaping). Windsurfing was the
new "in" thing and Pat was all about it. He
shaped both surfboards and windsurfers. Did you compete?
"I raced slalom and actually was making it all
the way to finals in California events. I preferred
windsurfing big waves in places like San Carlos Bay,
Baja. This was long before it was discovered as a popular
spot".
Pat's traveling schedule came to a halt with fatherhood.
With the birth of his two boys, James now age 11 and
Andrew now age 14, Pat was forced to slow down and find
sports that kept him closer to home. Lucky for him,
across the street from his house was a basketball court.
Taking it to the hoop like Magic was Pat's newest thing
and as you know by now, Pat does not do things half
way. He was looking to break backboards.
Not long thereafter Pat's basketball career ended due
to knee problems. So, rather then become a handicapped
person, he stopped to preserve his surfing. All of this
while still shaping boards.
In 1994, you readers may recall the ad Jarvis had in
the mags with Curren. Pat explained, "Jarvis was
pumping boards out like crazy. I began shaping with
him which revitalized my knowledge of the shortboard".
Pat was busy shaping for E.T. and Jarvis. He expressed
his appreciation for Dennis' getting him into the modern
shortboard. "We are good bro's and help each other
out to this day".
With the opening of Just Longboards, Pat was faced with
even more work. Pat began shaping all Bob McTavish's
boards as well. This afforded him the opportunity to
work with yet another top designer. All at once Pat
found himself shaping every shape you could imagine.
In 1997, Mark Hacker (former elporto.com "Who's
Hot") was working at Just Longboards. Mark wanted
Pat to shape him a big twin fin. "That was the
beginning of the "Hackfish" now the "Kingfish".
Mark would show up at local beaches with this big, thick,
flat, retro/ ultra modern sled and rip it (I've seen
it first hand). Soon thereafter, "Kingfishes"
were popping up around local beaches. "It's been
a slow evolution to what it is today," Pat explained.
Mark Hacker put it this way "the Kingfish can cruise
along with the soulful funk of a 70's single fin, and
you can milk every wave right to the sand."
Pat has taken great pride in the Kingfish design. As
he put it "Kingfish is my creation, all other boards
were followed by previous shapers." He attributes
his long-term success to his ability to shape all different
types of boards.
As we closed our interview I asked Pat if he wanted
to thank anyone. He said "yes, Greg Noll, heck
yes, for giving me a chance"; and "Eddie,
for everything". Explaining that Eddie has created
an environment at E.T. that kids grow up in. "A
lot of good kids worked their way through school there.
There's a guy there now that has been working for Eddie
for years and is going into the Fire Department".
"For also creating a place like Just Longboards
where you can see all of the classic names in one place,
still for sale. A lot of the old guys will stop shaping
soon and you won't be able to enjoy these things".
I would have to say that Pat's passion for shaping is
only matched by his admiration for the guys who made
surfing what it is today. By the end of the interview
he had me so stoked I couldn't help but order a new
stick from him. If you're in Hermosa be sure to drop
by Just Longboards and check him out.
Story by Lance Kane
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