Velzy

Dale Velzy’s legend status began as a young adult in the mid-1930s where he first started to surf and shape balsa-redwood laminate boards underneath the Hermosa Beach pier. After a stint in World War II, Velzy began shaping commercially in Manhattan Beach in the early-50s under Velzy Surfboards; what some consider as the world’s first surf shop. After opening two more stores in Hawaii and Malibu, Velzy teamed up with Hap Jacobs to create and open the Velzy-Jacobs Surfboards store. The multiple locations in California and Hawaii in dominated the newly discovered surfboard retail market. Velzy is also known for his contribution to longboard design by moving the wide-point of the board towards the tail to create maneuverability, was deemed the “pig”. The design became widely popular during its time and became the prototype for modern longboards. Velzy was an eclectic figure with a long list of legendary friends and surfers who rode his boards such as Mickey Munoz, Donald Takayama, Dewey Weber and Mickey Dora. He’s known to have purchased Bruce Brown his very first video camera and footing his expenses during the production of Brown’s first film, Slippery When Wet. Velzy continued freelance shaping into the early 2000s and passed away in 2005 at the age of 77. His legend lives on through his design contributions, production and retail prowess, and his ability to touch the lives of so many in the industry. He was inducted into the International Surfing Magazine Hall of Fame in 1967 and the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame in 1997. Velzyland, a popular surf spot on the North Shore of Oahu, is named in his honor.