Walter Hoffman

San Clemente, California, 2005

The Korean War broke out, so I joined the Navy, and had a choice between the UDT in Seoul and Honolulu. I chose Hawaii.

Ben Marcus interviewed Walter Hoffman and Dick Metz about the origins of surf trunks. Hoffman, a pioneering big-wave surfer, was the scion to Hoffman Fabrics, the company that would later supply materials to nearly every surfwear company in America. Metz helped build the Hobie Surfboards empire and later founded the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center. This interview was recorded in 2005. * * * ...

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