Randy Rarick Hosts Dick Brewer Story Discussion at HSFF 2024
On July 11, the 2024 Honolulu Surf Film Festival (HSFF) premiered a film that fans of surf history, culture, and surfboard design have been waiting a long time for; The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story. For the uninitiated, Dick Brewer is one of the most influential and important surfboard builders/shapers of all time. Brewer bridged the gap between the longboard to shortboard transition (aka “Shortboard Revolution”) while singlehandedly leading the way in modern development of big wave guns and boards for tow-in surfing. After the conclusion of the premiere, HSSF put on a post film discussion. The on-stage panel included the following group of legends:
Allen Sarlow (aka “King of Malibu”)
Bob Campi
Buzzy Kerbox
Derrick Doerner
Jim Kempton
Jericho Poppler (designer of the first Dick Brewer logo!)
Jock Sutherland
Pat Rawson
Handpicked to host and moderate the panel discussion was the most knowledgable figurehead in surfboard building history, Randy Rarick. Anecdotally, Randy foiled fins for Surfboards Hawaii, a label created by Dick Brewer with John Price in the 1960s.
The video below comes courtesy of Keyele (subscribe to his channel here) and covers the under 30-minute group conversation about The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story. If you don’t get a chance to watch the film at this year’s HSFF (contingent upon when you find this article) you can at least enjoy this panel discussion while awaiting the film’s wider release. Enjoy!
Summer of 66 : Vintage Noseriders + Modern Surfers
In this week’s update we are revisiting a short film produced (2021) by Randy Rarick and David Stanfield. You already know Randy (you’re on this website, after all) but if you’re unfamiliar with David Stanfield you can check out his series on the Hawaiian Islands Vintage Surf Auction (HIVSA) right here.
The Summer of 66 features all classic noserider surfboards from 1966. Why this particular year? It was when noseriding reigned supreme. Board builders and manufactures on the west coast of the United States each threw their hat into the ring and produced their very own noserider models. But instead of creating a ubiquitous quiver, what resulted was a unique interpretation of noseriders that offered a distinctive experience for those who stepped (and cross-stepped) upon their respective decks. Randy Rarick restored or repaired a handpicked selection of 10 vintage noseriders so that a new crop of surfers could take them out 55 years after the craft were introduced to the world. A 5/5 split between concave and step-deck noses were used, and included the following models:
Tom Morey MP “Snub”
CON Competition “Wing Nose”
Gordon & Smith “Stretch”
CON “Ugly”
BING David Nuuhiwa Noseriding Model
Yater “Spoon”
Harbor “Cheater”
Rick “UFO”
The Greek “Eliminator”
Ramsey Jay “Elevator"
The boards were ridden at one of Randy’s secret stomping grounds on the North Shore of Oahu. In addition to breathtaking cinematography and noseriding skill exhibited by the production’s “test pilots”, Rarick and Stanfield did a succinct but insightful deep dive into the history of each board and its builder. The result is the most comprehensive accounting of a distinguishing era of surf history and culture, made modern for today’s generation and those to follow. Enjoy the film in its entirety below.