Spyder Surfboards

Shaper: Dennis Jarvis

Location: Hermosa Beach, CA

About: (From Q&A excerpt on SpyderSurf.com)

YOU’VE SHAPED BOARDS FOR SOME OF THE TOP SURFERS IN THE WORLD, DID YOU EVER IMAGINE YOU’D SHAPE A BOARD FOR STARS OF ACTING AND MUSIC?

Yeah, I made a LOT of boards. I actually built all the boards in the first Point Break film.  I also taught them (the cast) all how to surf!  They stayed at my house for about 8 months, Kathryn Bigelow wanted them to understand the ”surfer creed” was a lot of fun. Anthony Kiedis was in the film and I made a few special boards for him! I have been hired to tech advise on a lot of TV shows and films, but Point Break was the most fun I had and gave me the courage to become a director.

WHERE DID THE NAME SPYDER COME FROM?

Funny story, it was the late 70’s and I was a big “BUGS” Rabbit Bartholomew fan, he was an Australian surfer and had his own logo.  It was the WB from the Warner Bro’s logo and had Bugs Bunny leaning on the logo.  It was really cool. Well, I was working at the local discount surf shop and was shaping my own boards and thought I need a logo! That night I went to the store at 5 corners and was looking through the MAD magazine while I waited for my “hot dog” and pretzel to be bagged,  I saw in the margin (MAD always did little funnies in the margins like Spy vs. Spy etc…) there was this creepy Spider on the margin and under it was a really funny poem.  It was like…itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, I smashed and squished it ‘til it’s guts came out.  Well something like that, but I was digging the Spider so I started hand painting it on my boards.  Then my friends would bring me their boards (even other brands) and they would PAY ME to paint it on their boards!  I knew it was a great logo and never looked back!

YOU’VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR OVER 35 YEARS, WHAT’S THE SECRET TO YOUR LONGEVITY?

I believe it is great customer service and having the best products.  Simple right? Well not really.  When I was at the discount surf shop I helped put 35 Surf Shops out of BIZ (think Jacobs, Dewey Weber, Unity, Reef…I have the list!)  But I was determined not to be put out of business and created a new way to help customers and it worked! Now Spyder Surf has 3 locations and if it weren’t for this Corona stuff we would have been looking at one more space closer to PV!

WHAT DO YOU MOST LOVE ABOUT THE SOUTH BAY COMMUNITY?

Oh my, there is such an eclectic group of folks that live here it is never boring. I learned to surf on the South Side of Hermosa Pier and I was honored to be inducted into the Surfer’s Walk of Fame in 2015.  I have been one of the biggest loud mouths saying that Hermosa Beach is to surfing as Gutenberg was to books. Gutenberg didn’t actually invent the printing press but he did make it popular.  Same with our legends, the likes of Greg Noll, Dewey weber, Hap Jacobs, Dale Velzy, Eddie Underwood and a lot more.  I think I love the fact I have in a small way some of that DNA in my blood and want to continue to make the best surfboards I can, It makes me happy when I get a letter telling me that I actually gave someone a memory that will last a lifetime, like a tube ride or another maneuver they were working on.  I live here and love it!  “Surfing…It’ll change your life”