Boardom: Hobie Alter

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The thrill is in the ride

What's New	Boarding America salutes those individuals who have had a profound influence on the sport and culture of surfing. Meet the men and women who started it all...	Silver Surfers: Hobie Alter Few names seem to personify the spirit of surfing like that of Hobart "Hobie" Alter-a figure saluted repeatedly as the cornerstone of the surfing culture and a pioneer shaper. Alter, who first became a surfboard entrepreneur during high school, grew up in Ontario, California, and spent summers at his family home in Laguna Beach. There he began building boards in his father's garage for friends, all the time figuring that it beat lifeguarding. By the time Alter had completed junior college, his father encouraged him to go into surfboard shaping full time. In 1958, with his father's financial backing, Alter bought a lot on Coast Highway in Dana Point and established a major surfboard shaping shop.
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His early success rode on advances in surfboard design and the introduction of foam and fiberglass. With chemist supplier Gordon "Grubby" Clark he was the first manufacturer to develop polyurethane boards, sculpting the popular "Malibu" model, and forever changing the face of surfing by opening it up to the masses. Today Hobie's fortune comes not just from surfboards, but the development and marketing of innovative skateboards, catamarans (Hobie Cats) and the licensing of his name to a chain of retail stores, beachwear and sunglasses. An all-around waterman, world class paddler, excellent surfer and champion tandem surfer, Alter received the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association's (SIMA) first annual Waterman Achievement Award in 1993. Now retired, Alter lives in the state of Washington.