Hot Brewz Surfboards since 1982

Born in 1944, Murray Smith grew up in Scarborough WA and is one of the state’s most coveted contest surfers and surf industry pioneers.

Murray’s Hot Brewz story

I started shaping surfboards for myself and friends in the early 60s. My first official job as a shaper was at Hawke Brothers in Osborne Park in 1967.

From there, I left to start my own business shaping initially from a side room at my parent’s home on the beachfront in Scarborough and then later in a garage at the front of my house in Scarborough.

By 1980 Business had outgrown my small set up in that location. I had been making boards for 14 years on a small scale and everything just grew. So, I took the next step and moved to a factory at 5 Flynn St Churchlands. At this time surfing was in a dramatic growth with Adan Nicholson helping with production, it was in this era that wave skies, sailboards and knee boards started to take-off as well!

By 1982 I couldn’t keep up with shaping, so I taught Dave Macauley to shape, he had joined a little earlier to do ding repairs, also artist Darin ‘Devo’ Howard came and joined to do board sprays with his unique designs. It created a totally different image for the boards. We started calling Dave’s shapes Hot Brewz (from all the hot resin brews in his ding repairs) and Devo designed the Hot Brewz logo in 1983. The name took off and everyone wanted Hot Brewz artwork and logos on their boards, no matter who shaped the boards. Late 1983 shaper Phil Usher joined us having just returned from Qld, this generated more business. Then Matt Manners and Benton Moran started to shape and Lindsay Park also stepped in to shape boards and sailboards. It was a very busy time!

In 1987 Ian Cairns returned from California and approached us to see if we wanted to sell the business, he also spoke to Tom Blaxell (Surfrider) and Tim Duff (surf promoter) to put a syndicate together to formulate a new company called Surfrider, which came into being. Surfrider lasted till 1990 then we went about re-establishing Hot Brewz/Murray Smith Surfboards at Churchlands with a new team consisting of Ado Sheppard, Davy Lewis and Benton Moran,

At this time besides the Churchlands outlet, we also opened a new retail shop in Scarborough, followed by one in Cottesloe, Fremantle and Busselton. Then a little later a discount store in Osborne Park Murray Smith Surf Warehouse which is still run by my son Ben and wife Connie Smith.

In 2007 I retired to the southern climes of Yallingup for summer and the spend winter in Exmouth.

I stopped doing Hot Brewz in 2008 when we sold off all the shops. Chappy at Chapstar Surfboards in Dunsborough is still doing them, so I guess Hot Brewz is still going!

I would personally like to thank all the wonderful staff who served in our organisation whether in manufacturing, retail and support staff, it was a huge help and couldn’t be done without you all.

Murray Smith.