Orange County's Endless Summer Podcast: Robert August Transcript

The 1964 surf classic "The Endless Summer" is known by surfers of all ages all over the world. Robert August, along with Mike Hynson and moviemaker Bruce Brown, followed the sun and surf around the globe looking for the perfect wave. The idea was that if one had enough time and money, it would be possible to follow summer around the world, making it endless. Listen to the surf icon talk about the evolution of surfboards and surfing styles, as well as the adventure of surf travel.

AOCVCB:

Well if you’ve been following our series here on surf icons and legends of Orange County, you’ll probably have noticed that they’re a pretty irreverent group of people.  You know, these are people who really created the surf culture in all the United States.  They grew up here in Orange County, most of them still live here in Orange County, and they form a really interesting, well as you’ve heard, an interesting group of people.  Now we’ve talked with Robert August, who is a very successful businessman, makes great world-class surfboards, and we asked him how he’d like to be introduced.

Robert August:
I’m Robert August, The Greatest Surfboard Maker that Ever Lived.

AOCVCB:

You know that’s pretty good.

Robert August:
Well, I have a positive attitude

AOCVCB:

And we’re in Orange County, in Huntington Beach, the surf championships are going on right now, so it’s very appropriate that we’re talking with you.  Robert August perhaps first came on the world of surfing through this incredible movie, “The Endless Summer,” with Bruce Brown, and you got to travel around the world, three guys, looking for the perfect wave.

Robert August:
Yup, well my dad was a surfer, so I surfed from when I was a little kid, never thinking it was going to be a career.  But we lived in Seal Beach right on the beach, and I surfed everyday of my life.  So by the time I was maybe 14 years old, without thinking about it, I was one of the best surfers around, just from repetition.  So Bruce, back then, was making surf films, several guys were, and they were just like lecture films at the high school auditoriums and stuff.  So I traveled with them to Mexico, and Hawaii and Florida, you know, little cool trips that were in those movies, and then he somewhere just decided to get aggressive and make a big one, go around the world.  I just got out of high school, and the next thing I know, I’m on a plane on the way to go to New York to go to Africa, it’s like Oh My Gosh.

AOCVCB:

If I remember right, one of the great, perfect waves you found was in South Africa

Robert August:
Oh yeah.  Well, you know, if you watch the whole film, we got surf almost everywhere that we went.  The surf was kind of part of the story, but a lot of the story was people we met, interesting things about all the different countries, and just the adventure of travel.  But we did stumble onto a really beautiful wave in South Africa that was real memorable, and it was a major part of the film, this wave that we discovered.  So if you are a surfer, that’s like a dream, to just be with a couple guys and find a wave, that nobody’s ever been there before.  So it was pretty sensational at my age, or at any age, I guess.

AOCVCB:

And you still surf here in Huntington Beach.

Robert August:
Yeah, still surf, still travel, make surf videos and I’m not getting any better, but I still enjoy it a lot.

AOCVCB:

And make fabulous surfboards.  You know surfboards have come a long way.  If you go to the International Surfing Museum, or a lot of places, you see the giant redwood boards that Duke Kahanamoku surfed with, and probably very few people would be surfing today if that was still the case.

Robert August:
Well, yeah it started mainly in Waikiki, where the Hawaiians started surfing.  And the waves are so smooth and so soft there that you could ride anything on those waves because it’s not very threatening.  So they had those big, giant, heavy planks and pretty much at Waikiki they still do the same thing, you just stand there and go in.

AOCVCB:

You’ve surfed some of the great beaches in the world, and still do, are there particular things that you remember when you’re thinking about great waves and great experiences, are there one or two things that pop out.

Robert August:
Well a lot of it is the adventure of the travel, and the people you meet.  You know, I’d end up in countries I never thought I would go to, even these days.  The Department of Tourism in Guatamala flew us all down there to try to upgrade their image.  Because Guatamala is kind of a sketchy place to go, there’s a lot of violence, but we went, we had a great time, we had no problems, we got great surf and met some great people, so getting there and searching around is just as exciting as the waves that we got. 

AOCVCB:

I think for people who visit Orange County, as opposed to people who grow up here, don’t realize just the wealth of surfing that’s here and the amazing variety of waves.

Robert August:
Yeah, it is, people, because I’ve traveled so much, I’ve met people, like I said, Australians came here for this event and to go with us to Costa Rica and they go “I can see why they call this Surf City.”  You know, there’s 30 miles of waves, even on the hottest Sunday, you can find a place to go surfing and have some fun, and take your family, there’s beaches where everybody is real cordial, family oriented, kids are having surf lessons, so it’s just so acclimated to having an enjoyable beach experience and surfing experience.

AOCVCB:

Tell me about the greatest surfboards in the world.

Robert August:
Well, to be a surfboard maker is exciting.  You have to constantly be changing, the surfing styles change, the materials we use, we’re always trying to make a better product, so it’s never boring, you never just standing there doing the same thing over and over. You’re always trying to keep up, or hopefully stay ahead of what everybody else is doing, come up with new designs, new something, so over the years it’s been really interesting. 

AOCVCB:

I’ve seen people walking around today with three surfboards under their arms.  Now the boards I grew up with, in the sixties and seventies were all six feet, seven feet fall. I’m five foot six (inches), the board was bigger than I was.  But of course it was foam and it was a lot lighter.  These are really light. 

Robert August:
Yeah, well surfing has evolved into several different styles of riding a wave.  So depending on how you want to approach it, that’s the board that you want.  There are guys that still prefer the real big, heavy boards, they want to glide around, they want to be smooth.  And there are other guys who want to ride a long board but they want to do all kinds of stuff.  And then there are little kids on the super light short boards that want to make fifty turns.  They look busy out there, but they’re great, I can appreciate what they do it’s incredible.  And you know, there’re boogie boarders, and there are people doing all kinds of different things in the waves, so what do you want to do, just to have fun, figure it out.

AOCVCB:

Well growing up in Orange County isn’t bad.

Robert August:
People travel here a lot, just in the United States, because I sell products all over the country, and I get comments like “well you people in Southern California don’t really have the seasons you know,” and I go “You’re right, we pretty much don’t.”  We’re never freezing to death, and we’re never boiling, it’s always nice.  And if that bores you, then I’m sorry, but I enjoy it.  I don’t have a heater, and I don’t have and air conditioner in my house, it’s always pleasant.

AOCVCB:

Robert August, thank you so much for joining us.

Robert August:

It’s been my pleasure!

AOCVCB:

And to find out the latest happenings in and around Orange County, make sure to check in with OC’s official visitor site AnaheimOC.org. That’s AnaheimOC.org. I’m Paul Lasley. And I’m Elizabeth Harryman. Join us next time for another look at Orange County.