In 1973 Rich Myers lived in California. He attended High School and was a member of a local surf team. Like a lot of keen surf kids, he like to dream and draw surfboard designs.
These are Rich’s comments and images:
In 1973 I attended a semester at Hamilton High in West Los Angeles, after a move from Huntington and graduated at Venice High.
I was on the Natural Progression Surf Team from Malibu with well respected Californian surfer J Riddle who designed the boards and famous shaper Robbie Dick.
At High School I got an ‘A’ in Scuba Diving, Technical Drawing and Geography but my other subject grades were the next letters down the alphabet.
It was difficult for me to pay attention in class, so to look busy I would always doodle surf stuff and would ask to go to the Library so I could read and look at the new Surfer Magazines. Especially the O’Neill Wetsuits advt “It’s Always Summer on the Inside” which featured a bare breasted surfer girl peeling off her wetsuit 😊
The advt ran for several issue’s before complaints from overzealous mom’s threatening to cancel their subscription to the magazine forced Surfer to pull the advt. The full size promo poster can still be seen at the O’Neill Wetsuit Store on 41st Ave in Santa Cruz!
Image: 1972 “It’s Always Summer on the Inside” full page advt run by O’Neill Wetsuits in Surfer Magazine.
I enjoyed Technical Drawing and got an A grade for the following drawing of my single fin Natural Progression Surfboard.
Image: 1973 Rich’s High School Technical Drawing of single fin Surfboard.
Image: 1973 Preliminary sketch of Natural Progression Surfboard by Rich.
Image: 1973 Rich surfing his 6’ 8”single fin Natural Progression Surfboard at ‘Hollywood by the Sea’.
In the early 70s my Californian High School wrestling mate Rod Youngman and I were trying to make boards out of a garage and we experimented with surfboard logos.
Image: 1972/73 Rod Youngman ‘RY’ surfboard logo doodling by Rich.
Image: 1970s Rich’s water colour drawing of Hawaiian Tom Stone surfing Pipeline (ex cover of Surfer Magazine).
In 1977, my Californian friend Clay Rossman asked me to get shaper Robbie Dick to shape a board like mine for him. The board is still in immaculate condition and its home is now far from the ocean.
Image: 2018 Rich holding Clay’s 1977 Natural Progression Robbie Dick Pro Series surfboard in Temecula California.
Surfing was regarded differently in the early 70s, it was unpopular to be a surfer and parents regarded it as anti-establishment behavior. My parents filed my surfing activities in their ‘shame folder’. This is not the case today as surfing is now main-stream and parents encourage their kids to be surfers and follow career opportunities in the surf industry.
Rich moved to WA in the 90s and has lived in Yallingup ever since.
In 1973 Rich Myers lived in California. He attended High School and was a member of a local surf team. Like a lot of keen surf kids, he like to dream and draw surfboard designs.
These are Rich’s comments and images:
In 1973 I attended a semester at Hamilton High in West Los Angeles, after a move from Huntington and graduated at Venice High.
I was on the Natural Progression Surf Team from Malibu with well respected Californian surfer J Riddle who designed the boards and famous shaper Robbie Dick.
Image: 1979 Natural Progression Surfboards advertisement featuring wind surfer Matt Schweitzer.
At High School I got an ‘A’ in Scuba Diving, Technical Drawing and Geography but my other subject grades were the next letters down the alphabet.
It was difficult for me to pay attention in class, so to look busy I would always doodle surf stuff and would ask to go to the Library so I could read and look at the new Surfer Magazines. Especially the O’Neill Wetsuits advt “It’s Always Summer on the Inside” which featured a bare breasted surfer girl peeling off her wetsuit 😊
The advt ran for several issue’s before complaints from overzealous mom’s threatening to cancel their subscription to the magazine forced Surfer to pull the advt. The full size promo poster can still be seen at the O’Neill Wetsuit Store on 41st Ave in Santa Cruz!
Image: 1972 “It’s Always Summer on the Inside” full page advt run by O’Neill Wetsuits in Surfer Magazine.
I enjoyed Technical Drawing and got an A grade for the following drawing of my single fin Natural Progression Surfboard.
Image: 1973 Rich’s High School Technical Drawing of single fin Surfboard.
Image: 1973 Preliminary sketch of Natural Progression Surfboard by Rich.
Image: 1973 Rich surfing his 6’ 8”single fin Natural Progression Surfboard at ‘Hollywood by the Sea’.
In the early 70s my Californian High School wrestling mate Rod Youngman and I were trying to make boards out of a garage and we experimented with surfboard logos.
Image: 1972/73 Rod Youngman ‘RY’ surfboard logo doodling by Rich.
Image: 1970s Rich’s water colour drawing of Hawaiian Tom Stone surfing Pipeline (ex cover of Surfer Magazine).
In 1977, my Californian friend Clay Rossman asked me to get shaper Robbie Dick to shape a board like mine for him. The board is still in immaculate condition and its home is now far from the ocean.
Image: 2018 Rich holding Clay’s 1977 Natural Progression Robbie Dick Pro Series surfboard in Temecula California.
Surfing was regarded differently in the early 70s, it was unpopular to be a surfer and parents regarded it as anti-establishment behavior. My parents filed my surfing activities in their ‘shame folder’. This is not the case today as surfing is now main-stream and parents encourage their kids to be surfers and follow career opportunities in the surf industry.
Rich moved to WA in the 90s and has lived in Yallingup ever since.
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