a biographical history of Surf Research written in 1971
The Wax Chronicles - Take a Trip Back in Time and Catch a Rare Glimpse into the Beginnings of a Legendary Company and Industry Pioneers of the Golden Era of Surfing.
"it's all right to stand on sandpaper, but lying and paddling on it is very uncomfortable" -by Fred Ryan (1971)
The business interests operating around the fringes of the sport of surfing are unlike any other: unhealthy, unnerving, unpredictable, unstable, and lately unprofitable. Business and surfing frequently don't mix. Surfers soon find they have become businessmen and the return to the tranquility of their origins never transpires. This seems almost to be a law; yet for every law there has to be an exception. The exception in this case is the company called Surf Research. Those involved over the years with Surf Research have been many of the big names in surfing; men who, because of their unconventionality, remain, to this day, in the direct energy current of surfing.
Fred Ryan, the author of the article, and currently the president Of Surf Research, traces the evolution of the company from its birth to the present day (1971). The forces that moved Surf Research were the same evolutionary energies that brought us from balsa to foam, from 10' 6" to 6'6". By looking at the changes that have occurred to this successful venture, we can get an insight into the people who have made from surfing both a life and a livelihood.
When I was asked to write a history of Surf Research, my first thought was that it would be a simple matter of chronicling the major events of our past few years. By recalling the past, as well as memory and records serve, I could evaluate the how's and why's of where we stand now, particularly in accordance with where our projections stood along the way. But this, along with our previous profit and figures and a description of all the various products we've produced, would only read like a typical business history. How dull can information of this sort be? No one cares except those whose livelihood depends on it, or whose added knowledge of someone else's business has become hobby or hang-up.
Anyway, to me this isn't a full account of Surf Research. Surf Research, besides being pure business, is an extension of all who have worked for or have been a part of it. It has reflected, in one way or another, many personalities and life styles. It couldn't be otherwise. All small businesses, groups, organizations, etc., reflect, besides their communal goals, the basic tendencies positive and negative) of the individual members—things are done on more personal levels than the larger bureaucratic structures.
Because of all that I thought was pertinent and necessary to the proper history of Surf Research, I reminisced on and off for a week, trying to recreate the experiences, decisions, and problems we all shared that propelled Surf Research in its singular direction. Much of this information then is biographical (relating to people and not business facts) and, thus, subjectively drawn and interpreted, so I leave myself open to question by the others involved.
I guess the best place to start is before the actual conception of Surf Research, while Garth Murphy and myself were up in Santa Barbara attending U.C.S.B.
Both Garth and I had gone to U.C.S.B. primarily because of its proximity to excellent fall and winter surf. In those days (1962), the coastline from Ventura North to Point Conception was relatively un-surfed. The only surf spots the outsiders really knew about were those just being revealed in the surf magazines: California Street, Rincon, Hammond's Reef and El Capitan. You could still hit Rincon alone during the week on a good, solid 6' swell. In the fall and winter of '62-'63, Rincon broke 4'-6' (many times bigger) every day-— the most consistent fall and winter I've ever seen. On those days weekends) when the LA. surfers would be up, we could surf the Campus Point which was closed to non-students with only the handful of surfers that were going to school.
As the years passed on though, of the spots became crowded (even the Campus area). It seemed like a giant surf migration every time a north swell rolled in. We began sneaking around looking for waves on the farms and oil properties north of Santa Barbara—sometimes getting caught and hustled out like a timed Trestles run. The pickings were pretty slim though, and around 1966 Garth and I realized Santa Barbara was no longer the country living and surfing area we had enjoyed the previous years. We started thinking then about bluer pastures. I was lucky aid got a Ranch pass last year we were in, so we weren't hurting that bad.
During the summers, Garth and I would go back to our home areas and suffer the crowds until school started again (South swells don't hit Santa Barbara because the Channel Islands are in their way. If you don't have a boat or a Ranch pass, you don't surf anything over 2' in the summer). I usually traveled or tried to find waves in Orange County, while Garth lived in La Jolla and worked for a young, up and coming surfboard manufacturer in Encinitas—Don Hansen.
That is where Mike Doyle and Rusty Miller come in. Both of them, from '62-'66, were doing well enough in the contest circuit and big wave riding in Hawaii that they were making a living off of surfing—something many surfers have thought one time or another. They had jobs with Hansen, riding, shaping, promoting, and just surfing with the large manufacturer's label on their boards. This was also the era in surfing when every surf star had his own "model" surfboard. I think 1968 was the Peak year for manufacturers and their riders. The down trend is still continuing).
It was in this relationship with Hansen Surfboards that Garth, Mike, and Rusty became very close friends. In the fall of 1966, Mike, Rusty, and Hansen got together and decided to start a small business—a precognition of things. to come in the surfboard industry. This would give Mike and Rusty more to do in their spare time and, also, give them a stake in something. Hansen could then get off the hook because he wouldn't have to feel responsible for Mike and Rusty if the rider to manufacturer relationship proved unprofitable (no longer valid as a sales gimmick). The combined effect would be a new sense of freedom for each of them.
The new business was named Surf Research and the intended operation was to manufacture and distribute surfing accessories. This category was broad enough to encompass Mike and Rusty's creative outlets. Because they were into surfing on a day to day basis, they had the added advantage of developing and testing new products and upgrading existing ones.
The inception of Surf Research began during the slack season for surfboard manufacturers — the fall. The initial investment was small and the energy expended less. Mike and Rusty spent the late fall and early winter in the Islands (they do every year). Besides wanting to be there for the big north swells, it was their job as riders to be there for contests, picture taking, promotion, etc.
Surf Research didn't move much during those early months (lack of manpower), and as the spring gave signs of another big year of sales for Hansen, Mike and Rusty went into the full time roles of, promotion, designing, sales and surf contestants.
Garth and I were still up in Santa Barbara that spring (1967) getting in our last licks of school and hitting the Ranch as much as Mike used to come up from Encinitas every few weeks to visit us. We'd surf and discuss what we (Garth and I) were going to do for a living upon graduation. Hundreds of wild schemes and locations to do them in came to our minds—we had decided on a joint venture of some sort. Whatever was decided, though, had to be more than just a business trip. It had to accord with our life style and freedom had to come first. Mike was also in on this talk because he wasn't sure about what he was doing. His job with Hansen and all that went along with it was getting him down.
Nothing conclusive was reached that spring but Mike persuaded Garth and I to move down to Encinitas when school was out where we could get into it more—a direction (business-wise) through which we could all channel our energies. Garth moved down in June while I stayed and went to summer school. Two days after my Ranch pass expired in August, I moved down.
I was impressed right away. Because the new freeway from Oceanside to San Diego had just been completed, the Old Coast Highway (previously the North-South thoroughfare) became a ghost road. This produced a sudden depression in the Encinitas area. Without the normal flow of traffic, the small roadside businesses went broke. People moved away and cheap commercial and residential rent was a result. It was in ideal place: no crowds, clean water, no smog, inexpensive to live—all we wanted at the time.
I guess a little of the actual operation of Surf Research is in order now. As I stated before, it got off to a slow start. The partners' efforts were mostly channeled into Hansen Surfboards that spring and summer so the Surf Research line was small and development slow.
The main product was surf wax, "Waxmate." This was developed through the joint effort of Rusty and Steve Knorr, (the son of a large candle maker in Del Mar). Between what Steve had learned from his father about waxes and Rusty's daily experimentation in the water, a pretty good surf wax was developed (though primitive compared to our waxes now). It was decided then that Steve would manufacture Waxmate for Surf Research on a jobber basis. He would deliver the finished wax (wrapped and boxed) to the door and be paid for it. This would save Mike and Rusty much effort in tying to manage employees for the same job. This relationship ended suddenly, however, when Steve got married and went on an extended vacation.
By that time, Garth was in the area and had taken over the management of Surf Research. Mike and Rusty had to spend the summer on the East Coast doing promotion for Hansen. Garth had his hands full with the other intricacies, so the wax making operation was handed over to Bill Engler (the Worm) on the same jobber basis. Bill was a mate of ours from Santa Barbara.
The partners had acquired a classic little building on the Coast Highway, one and a half blocks north of Swami's. The front of the property housed Surf Research while an old shed in the back was nailed together to become "Worm's Wax Works"—a one man manufacturing operation consisting of a 50 gallon oil drum for mixing and heating the waxes, an old four burner gas stove, a small portable propane tank with crude fixtures (very illegal), five metal trays for molding the wax, and assorted dyes and scents to make the wax concoction look and smell good.
Two hundred bars of surf wax a day was considered a full days chore that summer and the Worm and Garth would celebrate each occasion with four to five hours of surfing. They needed clear heads for the next day's work.
As a matter of side interest to those that don't know it, the North County has very rich soil. You may have noticed the large fields of colorful flowers on each side of the freeway. By the end of the summer, a giant fuchsia, watered daily by Garth, had engulfed the south half of Surf Research in a blooming red wave, left as you entered, right as you exited. It was symbolic for things to come.
Just as I moved down in August, the Worm blew out. The Worm's Wax Works attained a good, humid 110 degrees in the middle of the day and three months of that was enough for him. So, he passed the whole thing on to me and went off to the Islands. Luckily for me, the fall was coming on.
That fall, with Mike and Rusty back from the East Coast and all of us having had the chance to work together, We decided that Surf Research would be a good outlet for all our energies. The only barrier was the actual partnership arrangement in Surf Research; Garth was an employee and I was even farther out of the operation in terms of goals, decisions, etc..., It was the time of the year for Mike and Rusty to hit the Islands, so we decided to hash around different alternatives until they got back.
When the boys returned late that fall, it was decided that the rest of Hansen's share be purchased—our were moving in one direction, while Hansen's was going in another. Hansen was given the option of selling his share or buying the rest from Mike and Rusty. Hansen agreed to selling and everyone concerned was happier as a result. I would like to add that there were no bad vibes because of this maneuver; we all realized that it was the right direction to go. The shares were arranged equally among Garth, Mike, Rusty and myself.
January (1968) we were stoked and moving out, the small business was getting enough sales to pay expenses and have a little left over.
It was our first venture into the business world and our knowledge of proper organization and normal business practices was almost nil (though Garth had been into the flow The first month or so we all hustled around the little building, stepping on each others' toes by trying to do everything at once, all of us anxious to get things moving. No one wanted to get in anyone's' way, which left a definite lack of organization or power structure. In order to make a simple, basic decision' about a product, price, ad, or whatever, we would all sit down and hash it around to come to the decision - or go surfing and figure it out in the Water. It was crazy!
Finally, Garth called a meeting at his house. After a fine dinner with all the extras – music, drinks, etc., and Mike, Rusty, and myself feeling very smooth and comfortable in the rocking chairs, Garth stood up and confronted us. "I'm president now," he said, "Any objections?"
The three of us felt relieved. Someone finally assumed the power position, and with this most of the responsibilities. Since Garth was living on a subsistence level, it was the natural thing for him to do because he could then justify taking a wage – Mike, Rusty, and I had other sources of income at the time. There wasn't enough full time work for all of us, so Garth doled out the jobs as they came up. Rusty was usually given the sales role; Mike, the development of products, myself, the production of products – though we all had a hand in each endeavor. This all lasted throughout of 1968.
When I think of all the different we got into, it brings up mixed emotions, pride, laughter, pain, chills, every product a complete trip on its own. Besides 'Waxmate', the other products developed in the early stages of Surf Research were the 'Nose-Lifters' and 'Spraymate' both developed in Spring of '67.
Most of you can remember the days of the 10' boards when nose riding was the 'in-thing' to do. It was a difficult maneuver to sustain for any length of time, and if you had a board especially designed for this, it usually lacked the all around features a board should encompass (turning ease, speed, etc.), unless you owned a quiver of them. Well, the took care of this. They were two foiled fins, or wings, that were bolted on the surfboard's fin to cause a lift in the nose. They worked extremely well, but the drag from the tail section, causing the nose to lift or support more weight, was enough to keep you from attaining adequate speed or turning ability. The advantage in using the 'Nose-Lifters' was that they could be removed and the board could assume its normal functions. Surf Research ended up sitting on 1000 sets of 'Nose-Lifters', The revolution in board design was just taking place. With the advent of the 'V' bottoms, etc., general infatuation with nose-riding suddenly gave way to maneuvers never attainable with the larger, cumbersome 'planks'. (Two years later we sold the little foils as belly-board fins).
The demise of 'Spray-mate' (a spray-on, non-slip agent to take the place of wax, coming in different colors) was not so sudden. fortunately we foresaw the doom of this product before we got too financially involved;-All of the-non-slip sprays on the market were functional in that they kept one from slipping, but they were so abrasive, that usually, the only areas covered were the board's nose and tail. When boards became so short that a surfer's body stretched from nose to tail when paddling, the practicality of these spray-on agents became nebulous –
it's all right to stand on sandpaper, but lying and paddling on it is very uncomfortable. Two down, more to go!
The products developed and produced after Garth and I arrived on the scene were: the 'Locked-In', a device, to lock the surfboard to the car rack; the 'Surfboard' and Wet suit Repair Kits'; our surf trunks, 'Baggies'; 'New Food', a granola mix, very energizing; the 'Rescue Tube', the bright orange devices you see hanging on lifeguard stands.
As I said before, each was a trip on its own; each having to developed and tested before the decision to produce or not was made. Most of the above products were in developed and sitting on our shelves by the summer of '68.
Our sales were still small enough that once the ground work was laid, in terms of product development, initial sales trips, ads, etc., Mike, Rusty, and myself didn't have much' to do. That fall, '68, I slipped out and started making surfboards (a mind boggling experience I've since repressed) until Surf Research could fully support my habits, while Mike and Rusty went off on their yearly jaunt to the Islands.
Garth was left holding the reins, and it was his aire that was felt by anyone associated with Surf Research. Although, our advertisements capitalized mostly on Mike and Rusty. (Our ads were always spur of the moment spin-outs and usually late to the publishers. Some of the ad sessions were so spontaneous that we didn't think about what we were putting across to the reader. Sometimes, we even forgot to name the product. It was classic fun and I guess the vibe was good enough to keep our sales going.)
That giant, red Fuchsia I was talking about earlier came on strong during Garth's reign. Surf Research was clean, simple, and efficient under his stern, authoritative gaze. The production was done by the local kids, girls for wrapping the wax and putting patch kits together, boys for making the wax and the heavier jobs.
While Mike and Rusty were playing in the Islands, and myself getting more involved in making surfboards, Garth started to feel the binds and pressures of business life. It had him locked-in, the responsibility consuming more and more of his personal freedoms something we hadn't planned on happening.
Surf Research had a pretty year in 1968 and we all took dividends late in the fall.
By winter (1969) Garth started burning out; the business was growing rapidly and more of his time was being spent at the 'office.' The result was the hiring of a general manager to take some of the load off of Garth's back. (Rusty wasn't ready for that role; he's a traveling man and was thinking about the Islands again. Mike was too busy on other things and was also planning a trip to the Orient and Australia. I was still too involved in surfboards, although I was beginning to phase out.)
John Baker became the new manager; still is. He was married and had kids, so he was already working full time to support his scene. The new job gave him much more freedom than he had previously—surf breaks are part of the working day at Surf Research.
Surf Research really took off that spring and summer. In August (1969) we four partners had our final business meeting together. We tried to decide whether to sell Surf Research, or to keep it awhile for the investment. (The business was profitable enough then to keep us all supported – if everyone worked but the enchantment that drew us to the North County was waning. The boys were getting restless.) We decided to keep the business for a while to see what happened.
Rusty moved to the Islands, where he has been off and on, between trips here, there, and everywhere. Mike, just back from Japan and Australia, got itchy feet and went off to the Islands, then skiing, then…
Garth's exit was beautifully timed. Within two weeks of my getting out of the surfboard business and taking over Garth's role in Surf Research, he had kicked out of that flaming, red lock-in he had cultivated, and with board in hands, went off to the Islands and Australia, pioneering new frontiers of greener and bluer pastures.
I was in the driver's seat now. (The two years we all worked together – off and on – our heads and energies were moving along the same lines, our directions and' goals harmonious: freedom for surfing, traveling, or anything. All this to be supported by Surf Research. We never fully realized these together though, for Surf Research was too small in the beginning to support us all, and when it became profitable enough, the area was getting crowded and polluted. We all had different ideas on when and where to go to get away from these.)
John and I had our hands full; the end of the summer was near, but sales kept increasing. Since we were too busy organizing two new (the nylon-knit 'Baggies' and 'New Food'), we had to hire more labor to manufacture our other products.
Surf Research was the first to use this new nylon-knit material for surf trunks. The first reactions from the surf shops and surfers in California were depressing. "The colors are no good"; "The material's too thin"; "Can you see through them when they are wet"; "Do you have any prints or flower patterns"? It was disheartening since everything we put into producing the 'Baggies' had the ideal of functionality behind it. We designed the trunks for surfing. We picked the strongest, lightest material anyone could buy; we used special Dacron thread that would give, or stretch, with the material; we had them fabricated with utmost quality and care. And the first reaction to them was, ' 'Wow, they're weird."
We weren't trying to win a fashion contest, we wanted to sell the best surf trunk.
The tide suddenly switched, however, in March (1970) and our stock was gone at the beginning of April, the trunks sold like hot cakes. Instead of being relieved though, the headaches just started coming on stronger. The 'Baggies' sold so well that we didn't have a chance to re-order material and get production going again before we ran out. The surf shop dealers started screaming. The biggest blowout of all came when we tried to re-order the material and found out that three to four of the larger surf trunk manufacturers had tied it up (no chance of getting more) They had a chance to see the acceptability of the material/ We were stuck at the beginning of the surf season without "Baggies", which was good for us, but many surf shops and kids had orders we couldn't fill – no way to make friends.
1970 was the year of our biggest sales, and also, our biggest hassles, We had eight products to produce., 17 employees to be on top of, mounds of paper work in the office, trucking strikes all over the U.S.A., and many of our dealers slow on paying. Surf Research was becoming a good sized business in the surfing industry and we weren't ready for it. Also, the little building we had been in for three and a half years was outgrown. We have to move – a sentimental occasion leaving the big red wave and the garden in back.
The move came in the middle of June. Production was halted for three weeks and caused a long list of back orders on each product. It was heavy enough for us to make the move and get things going again, but when the dealers started canceling long awaited orders and sending bad vibes through the mail and telephone, we knew we had to make some drastic changes. Surf Research had always been interested in developing products that were functional and needed by surfers. Our sales were small enough in the earlier days we had the ability to produce them and always have stock. This was no longer possible. We were so extended (every. product being different and requiring much time in testing) that our life styles were suffering. We felt lucky if we could get an hour free time a day to do what we pleased. Our profits also suffered because of this over ex- tension - many extra costs and expense.
Therefore, we took the only course possible in our situation. The brakes were put on. Our course was altered to encompass only one product, 'Waxmate.' Everything else was dropped. Waxmate was our bestseller and, I think, our best product. We also knew more about waxes than anyone else in surfing and like the testing grounds.
Our whole business was adjusted and oriented to one thing, surfing. We planned to make specialized waxes for any conditions. The result today is our Regular (cold, cool, and tropical) and Super (cold, cool, and tropical) Warmate's.
In August (1970), Hylton Murphy (the Wax Baron) moved in and took over our wax research and development duties; he had a good background in organic chemistry and some experience with ski-wax.
By the fall, Surf Research had shrunk to John, Hylton, myself, a Secretary, and one part time employee. We surfed out every day. Whew!
Mike, Garth, and Rusty stopped by in December, all having decided to sell out. They had found their hide-outs and needed some survival money (not much around in their areas). I didn't want that much of a lock-in, so I was able to persuade by brother Mike, and brother-in-law, Harold, to purchase the other shares.
My brother doesn't put any time in here, too much traveling to do. Harold, on the other hand, is a working man, and, being a skier, got some ideas about making ski-wax. Hylton was stoked on that idea because he's also a skier. (everyone was because we can now write off ski trips as a business expense - do some testing. Now that; I think we have most of the world covered as far as tax write offs go.)
Right now John and Hylton are holding things down here in Encinitas, pumping out surf-wax and doing a lot of surfing, the business coming back down to its beginning paces, slow, smooth, and under control. Harold is back in Colorado organizing the ski-wax trip.
I'm…….well,…….contemplating an extended vacation to parts unknown.
The next round for Surf Research should be very interesting.