California Apparel News

Hobart “Hobie” Alter, 80, passed away March 29 in Palm Desert, Calif. He was one of the innovators of the sport of surfing and also opened one of California’s first surf shops.

In 1954, Alter opened the Hobie Surfboards shop in Dana Point, Calif. Previous surf shops were guerrilla operations, but Hobie Surfboards was defined by a retail professionalism, said Dick Metz, Alter’s lifelong friend, business partner, and president and chief executive officer of the fleet of Hobie stores, which reached its greatest number of more than 12 shops in the late 1960s. “It was the first place that wasn’t a garage,” Metz said of the Dana Point operation. There was a showroom in front and a busy workshop in back. Unlike the proto-surf retail operations, Alter charged a set price for the boards and charged sales tax.

There also was sense of retail theater at the first shop. As motorists drove by the shop, they could look inside its big windows and see Alter displaying boards in the showroom, said Metz, who also is the founder of the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center in San Clemente, Calif.

Alter also was celebrated for innovations such as developing and manufacturing the foam surfboard. Polyurethane foam is the dominant material used by surfers. Alter was hailed for his new designs in sailboats, such as the Hobie Cat, a small sailing catamaran boat that enjoyed worldwide popularity.

In 1993, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association honored Alter with a “Waterman of the Year” award. In 1997, he was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame in Huntington Beach, Calif. The San Juan Capistrano, Calif.–based Hobie Surf company gave an appreciation of Alter on its website (www.hobie.com). “He introduced the world to an outdoor lifestyle and collection of products that made things just a bit more fun for all of us. Hobie’s passing will leave an incredible void in the world of surfing, sailing and watersports.”

Alter is survived by his wife, Susan; three children; eight grandchildren; and a great- grandchild.