From the 1960’s until December of 2005 Clark Foam was basically the only game around for surfboard blanks – you know, that foamy stuff that surfboards start as – if you built surfboards, you were building them with Clark Foam blanks. Period. And, you were happy. Very happy. Clark was dependable and reliable. On time shipments of the highest quality. They were the shoulders that the surf industry stood and grew on. They were the hub of the wheel, all else in the industry basically spoked off of Clark. And, the industry was happy and had grown fat off the labor of owner, Gordon “Grubby” Clark. We were fat and happy and didn’t think anything would ever change how happy and well taken care of our blank needs were. Until it did.
On a Monday, with not a whisper on the wind of warning, a 9-page fax dropped onto the floors of shaping rooms and glass shops across the country. “…Effective immediately Clark Foam is ceasing production and sales of surfboard blanks.” The word “Immediately” was never more properly used to describe an action. There would be no Tuesday. There was barely a Monday afternoon. By the time shapers had finished the text of the goodbye letter, the molds at Clark had been destroyed, and with them any hope of a resurrection or change of Grubby Clark’s heart. It was over. Beyond repair. Beyond any loss that an entire community felt they could endure. There was no one happy that day. We had taken the man that had held us up for a generation for granted, and now he had destroyed the ball and he blew town in a flurry of faxes.
A few Clark Foam blanks have survived over the years. Hobie has several salted away for special times. Guess they were feeling like it was one of those special times, because they pulled out four treasured pieces and sent them to Gary Larson to be shaped. Holder of a Masters Degree and a college professor on top of being a Master Surfboard shaper, Gary is a lifelong intellectual. His opinions are always well reasoned out with layers of deeply thought out conviction. The combination of the history of the blanks and the character of the man shaping them called for an interview during the shaping process.
Tracey :: What was the blank ordering process like?
Gary :: You choose what you want and call up, say I want a 62c blank with a Hobie rocker number 18. Meaning they know what rocker to grab to go with a 62c. Or you may say I want it with a number 17 rocker or something else because you would want a little more rocker or a little less. Then they would go to the Hobie section of rockers and grab that one stringer, that is the key, put it down and cut however many stringers they needed for the order. Then they put the key back.
What does First Quality mean and the dots? Is that significant?
First Quality means that it’s without any imperfections and deliverable. Second quality means that there is an issue with the blank, be it an air-bubble, stringer is not quite right, whatever it may be, it didn’t pass inspection and was sold at a discount.
The dots are a type of code. Those dots indicate the barrel of the polyurethane liquid foam that that blank was made from and also the person who poured the blank. Say, it was a really humid day while blanks are being poured. This slight environmental change might affect the way the foam cures in the mold. You may have shapers calling Clark saying blanks are tearing, or they have air bubbles, or some flaw. The shaper will write down what blank it was, it was a “Super Blue with three dots under the U.” So, it was a way to go back and see what day it was poured, what was the temperature when it was poured, what happened? Why is there this issue? Also, you could check back with other shapers who got foam from the same barrel and see if they too were experiencing the same problems.
It was a quality control code.
What were some of the little things lost that have never quite come back with newer companies?
What was really cool about Clark was, see how it has this almost seersucker texture to the blank? (Feeling the blank, it has an almost skin-like quality or a very soft corduroy to it.) Clark used this special release paper to release the blank from the mold. When the liquid foam was poured in, which was an extreme art in itself because the foam was expanding as you were working, you needed to get it just right. You don’t want it to be denser on one side then the other. It needed to be precise and it was all done by hand. But, the release paper that Clark used to make sure the blank didn’t stick in the mold when you opened it, it’s never quite been duplicated. The first few batches of blanks right after the closure, that came from the new companies, there would be chunks missing on the deck, or ripples, because they were using different techniques and the blanks just were not coming out totally intact or as perfect as Clark’s blanks. You just couldn’t use any paper. Whatever paper he was using, it was special and it worked flawlessly and it left the texture you feel on a Clark Foam blank that you don’t feel on anything else still today. That was really unique.
The wood too. Clark’s lumber was very high quality. It was always good. I don’t know if it is just because wood is so expensive now, or if he just had the best sources, but his was by far the best.
The other thing I really miss is calling there in the morning and saying: “I need four 94B’s with this weight, this rocker, etc,” and the very next day, they would be in the shaping room waiting. They were right down the street, they had the local delivery truck… but, it is a LOT of work. This one piece of foam comes out, they cut it in half, they go get the rocker key, cut that out, glue it, clamp it, let it dry, unclamp it and get it to you. That is what the lines are across the blank, the index lines they drew before cutting it in half, so after placing the stringer, they could place the two halves back together properly.
When you look back, does it impress you how much they were able to do for surfing and get done for board builders?
I think it almost shows how a generation got a little cocky and forgot all he had done. People in the industry weren’t too fond with some of Grubby’s business mores. It’s rumored he used to put people on a blacklist (this is a very well known fact inside the surf industry). But in the end it’s his company, he can do what he wants. But, people used to complain all the time about him, people would bad mouth him all the time. I guess it would be comparable to if you had a teacher you thought was unfair, or someone who had a little power over you and they are someone who you HAVE to interact with, they in the end might be a [jerk], but they make you a better person. And, it was the same thing with Clark, as soon as it was gone, everyone was like wow, he had this perfectly rock solid well-oiled machine of a company that all of us took for granted.
There is a beauty in the way he ended it, don’t you agree? It’s like the dream deep down inside that we all secretly have is to just be able to go out and not just burn the bridge behind you, but to blow up the cliffs with it? Molds gone, check. Doors locked, check. Fax semi explaining why you did it sent, check… It was the ultimate [middle finger] if there ever was one. You have to respect that in a way, right?
Yeah. He had to think of himself. He had put his entire life into creating this thing to sustain an industry and the industry had no shame in bashing you, and be so dense as to not understand what you are doing then “I’m sorry but this is going to sting. See you later.” He had all the money he needed, a nice place to retire. And the feeling of if you don’t think I’m that important, then we’ll see. It was beautiful, it is beautiful.
Now that social media has so taken over, and it is so easy to categorize a company… “That is a cool company.” “This is for kids.” “That company belongs over here for a high end consumer.” “This company is for the punks.” Where instead, it was: “This is a business.” Clark was a business. I provide a product. It’s not focused just for the shortboarder, or the radical shortboarder, or the garage shapers. The purist, the machine guy. Or the longboarder. It was a product for everyone. I listen to everyone. I distribute to everyone. I have a good system. You shouldn’t be bashing it. It was his business. He could run it however he wanted to, and he did, whether you liked it or not.
That’s true… back then you didn’t see any other companies really popping up trying to take business that Grubby wouldn’t take.
Did you ever go to John Paul’s coffee in Laguna? So he was widely known as the biggest [jerk] ever. He would kick people out of his store while standing in line to buy something! If you showed up with a Starbucks cup, or any other cup, and wanted a pastry, he wouldn’t give it to you. He would just tell you to leave, he wouldn’t serve you anything. He was notorious for that…
Like The Soup Nazi from Seinfeld?
Exactly. But, there was always a line out his door every morning.
That was what it was with Clark. You did what you had to do to stay off the blacklist. You followed Grubby’s program, or you didn’t get your blanks. And, maybe that was an extreme move on his part. But, again, in his mind, if you are going to buy blanks from someone else, and you are not going to buy them from me, then that is the choice that you made.
It’s very egotistical, no, maybe the better word is insecure. I don’t know why he would blacklist people, it’s strange.
Maybe it was an age thing? The blacklist probably didn’t start in the 60’s, 70’s, or even the 90’s? Maybe he just flat out got over people?
Terry Martin would have known.
It’s definitely an insecurity. If you classically defined it, it would be insecure. But, whatever, people are allowed to be insecure, that is human. And, if you want to run your own business that way, that is fine.
Has there been anything as good as Clark Foam was and probably would still be?
That’s hard to say… US Blanks, I’d say. The people at the front of the house are the same people that were at Clark. So in that sense, yes, US would be the most comparable. But, they are different. The foams are different. To say one is better than the other? I don’t know. If you gave me two blanks that didn’t have any markings, shaping them, I would be able to tell. But in the finished product, I probably couldn’t notice a difference.
I worked at San Clemente Surf Company at the time of the closure, and I remember the weeks and months around it. It was wild. Watching people go from having consistent work, to instantaneously having absolutely none. Then companies popping up overnight cranking out pretty sub-par blanks. So there was a beauty to it, but…
It was an immediate vacuum that was left. Because then you have everyone jumping in and trying to grab a little portion of the market that he left to keep it all going. So, of course, in the beginning, there was just crap. There was so much bad foam, so having a blank didn’t necessarily mean that you had work.
You went the opposite way, right? Started shaping prone paddle boards for a bit?
Yes. Because the only foam that was around was EPS. Or, the only foam that you could get that was semi reliable, was EPS. You could get it and it was cheap. And, of course, glassers were looking for work, so, since there were no polyurethane boards to glass, they would glass with epoxy in a heartbeat. You could get anyone to glass with epoxy, because there was no other option. You want to work today? Then I have this EPS board, you weren’t picky.
RELATED: Hobie Surf :: Gary Propper Celebrates 50 Years with Hobie!!!
What is something people may not know about Grubby? Something surprising about him?
Well I never knew him on a personal level but what was really cool and what I really admired about Clark, the guy really came across as very intelligent. He often sent out lengthy newsletters. He would send them out every-so-often, and the way that they were written, you could see that every sentence was well-thought out.
Everything was supported with evidence, everything was clear. He had a message, and there was no BS within the writing, it was just “This is what I’m saying. This is what I mean. These are the facts why I’m saying what I’m saying.” Every newsletter was like, “This is the current state of the industry.” Or: “These are the new blanks I’m releasing and why.” “This is the new foam I’m coming up with. Why it’s lighter or why it’s denser.” What market was it filling and why we are making it, why we are changing it…
There were clear layers to the commentary…
Very clear. Very, very clear on everything he sent out. They never left room for anyone to question what he was doing. Not until the end when he said, “I’m out.” All of the sudden there were these questions, because he was always so clear spoken before that. A very transparent person. Then he was just gone. That goes back to the beauty of what he did. Breaking the molds. He left no options, no room to question… What would he have done with them? Sell them to the highest bidder? That’s not fair.
So as unthought out as his fax seems, and the closure seemed, it was perfectly thought out. Perfectly finished, with no room left to question?
Exactly. There was no room left for one more blank, or to stay in business for one more week, one more day. There was no way to start again tomorrow afternoon, because there was no way to put it back together. It was an unquestionable ending, even if it wasn’t one you liked.
Is there one blank you miss having? One that has never come quite back?
Not really, everything has been replaced. Everything. There are ones that I have a lot of memories with. Like the 94B or 94H. In the early 90’s that was what we were shaping. The high performance longboard, before the whole single fin deal and logs came back around, those blanks were the go-to. This blank came out, the whole line, the 94B, 94H, and the 95S, which were all pretty much the same kind of performance blank. But, very subtle changes. I remember doing tons of boards out of those three blanks.
The first board I ever shaped was a 611R, which I shaped a ton of. I think I knew that one so well, I knew all the curves in it. But, now, most companies have all the bases covered. The wood though, his was still better than we get today. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know where he got it but it all planed really nicely.
It almost makes me nervous seeing them in the room. It’s bizarre. Again, what we’ve been saying, it won’t come to pass again… These are some of the last.
You have to think about the future. Are we even going to have blanks in the future? Or will it be a 3D printing process? Where do we go from here? There will always be that hand crafted guy, but for the masses… Will there still be an Al Merrick?
3D printing makes the case for the ultimate “Perfect Board.”
It will be identical to the one that came out before. It’s about being resourceful. Wasting less. That is what we need to be mindful of as we go on. That is the idea, companies try and trim the fat anywhere they can. How do we create less waste? 3D printing is a way. Look at how much waste I produce everyday. Toxic waste. Plastic waste. There is less waste to 3D printing, but it still produces a product and most products end up in a landfill at some point, but, there was no waste in the producing of it.
Maybe it becomes a perfect circle and instead of hitting the landfill, the board gets melted right back into the printer and turned a different board entirely?
Maybe with that kids might feel that boards are disposable. Well, I snapped my board, I’ll just make another board. There are some like that already. That wasn’t really the attitude about boards when I was growing up. You treasured your board. Each ding hurt. I have a feeling that in some ways it can relate to our obsession with social media, when tour pros show the quiver shot, and it’s not even a quiver for the year, it’s a quiver for one contest, and it’s 16 boards. For one contest. It’s pretty mind blowing.
I think, even for people who come here to Hobie Dana Point, and look into your window, most of what you are doing is lost on them. The craftsmanship. The time it took for you to get good enough to be mediocre, then mediocre to good, then good to a master craftsmen. The thousands of hours in the dusty, toxic environment… Just to make them a toy.
It does speak to the surf culture. Maybe on the whole deal. But, it gives us our life. This wasteful mentality has sustained a business. To kick out in the shore-break and snap the board, it has kept us working. Possibly.
Is there loyalty in people to a hand shaped surfboard?
Yeah. Absolutely. There will be the people who don’t care. Then there will be the people who will only ride a custom surfboard. There will always be the ones who want it right now, and they won’t care what they get.
I read an article a while ago and it differentiated between the depression era population and the post WW2 population and the main thesis of the article is that the depression era population would reuse everything, and not because it was designed to be reusable, but because it could be reused. It’s a glass jar, it’s a nice plate, we have to keep it clean. We have to reuse it. They would reuse boxes and milk bottles because they were reusable. It was products that weren’t designed to be durable items, it was just what was.
Then post WW2 was the disposable generation. Products were designed to be disposable! It’s Dixie cups, TV dinners, plastic silverware. Now these objects, that at one time had reusable value, now had no reusable value. But, still, a depression era person just looked at it as a cup, a plate, a fork, and the idea of it being disposable never connected. When it was a glass cup, it was precious because it was a cup, when it became a paper cup, it was still a cup, and therefore still precious.
They both have the same use, but one was reusable and one was not considered such. But, in the end it comes down to the consumer who actually assigns the product a “value.”
It shows the way we view a product and the way the next generation may view a product. For example, a product never touched human hands, so it’s not precious. We only know surfboards as touching human hands, but maybe this generation or the generation after will know surfboards as this product that comes out of a machine.
Are we still going to have that same attachment to that board? That generation that never knows hand shaped surfboards, they only know this board came out of a machine. There will never be that attachment. It will come out exactly how you want, at the touch of a button.
It’s not that it’s disposable or not, it’s the attachment that you carry along with that item.
I think of the SciFi movies where the future is stripped down. You have one plate, one spoon… Simplification. You would have one surfboard. With Kelly’s wave pool, that could be a reality? Only the need for the board for the wave you set…
The limit to choice frees your time. You flip the script on surfing. Originally, you may have had a board for a specific wave condition. And Mother Nature sets that condition. This created the need for a quiver of surfboards.
Today, we can create the conditions. If your board is only a 6’2” or a 6’6”, a high performance board, then you set the wave machine to produce a high performance wave. You tailor-make that wave to what you want! I’m just happy to be around to witness this new era of “surfing.”
