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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