The Robert August Father's Day Surfboard
Father’s Day falls on June 21st this year, which also happens to be the first day of summer. So to all the dads out there, best wishes for a happy Father’s Day as we welcome in the warm, carefree days of summer!
I remember what I was doing last June 21st...I was on the island of Kauai with my wife Carol, watching our daughter get married to a great guy. I was one proud dad. Now, one short year later, they are expecting their first child (it’s a boy!) in September. I am one stoked grandfather-to-be...
In what seems to have become a Father’s Day tradition here at Last Wave, we will once again be giving away a surfboard! This year, our annual surfboard giveaway features a classic longboard from legendary surfer, shaper and dad, Robert August! This 9’ 0” X 22 ½” “What I Ride” model features a classic longboard template with modern rocker and rail lines. The actual giveaway board is currently in production; it will feature a 2+1 fin setup and will be glassed with a seafoam green bottom and rails. The finish will be a gloss and polish...check it out!
We all remember that Robert August played a starring role in the vastly influential surf movie, The Endless Summer. He also became a respected shaper, starting back in 1965 when he shaped for Jacobs Surfboards. And according to Robert’s son Sam August, he is also a great dad. In this article, I will touch on Robert August the surfer, shaper and father, and on Sam August...how his life was shaped by his well-known father.
Robert August was born in June of 1945 and grew up in Seal Beach, California. His father, Orral “Blackie” August, was a Redondo Beach lifeguard and a true surfing pioneer, riding waves with Duke Kahanamoku when Duke would visit Southern California. Robert was just six years old when Blackie introduced him to the surfing way of life. He developed a smooth, relaxed style at a very young age, one that allowed him to become a successful contest surfer. It also caught the attention of filmmaker Bruce Brown, who chose Robert to appear in three of his earlier movies, all before filming of The Endless Summer began in 1963. It was the opportunity and experience of a lifetime for an 18 year-old kid just a couple of months out of Huntington Beach High.
The Endless Summer was released for worldwide distribution 60 years ago this month. It was named one of the ten best movies of the year (1966) by Newsweek Magazine. More than just another surf movie, it was instrumental in popularizing the burgeoning surf lifestyle. Beginning in 1964, Brown took his new movie on a barnstorm promotional tour of the U.S. in a motorhome, showing and live-narrating it in small theaters and auditoriums all across the country. Traveling with him were a cast of the period’s most elite surfers, including co-star Mike Hynson, Hobie Alter, Joey Cabell, Corky Carroll and Phil Edwards. Robert August opted not to go; instead, he enrolled in a dentistry program at Long Beach State. But the movie, with its iconic poster design and unmistakable theme song, would leave an indelible impression on his life.
To be continued…,
Ted
